Bernd Leno fell out of favor with Arsenal at the start of the 2021/22 season after another direct opponent was drafted.
What did Bernd Leno say?
The German footballer reflected on the bitter misfortune of losing his starting berth at Arsenal to Aaron Ramsdale, and Bernd Leno said he wanted to attack again immediately after slipping out of favour. The German international goalkeeper started the 2021-22 stick-to-stick campaign for Arsenal but saw a direct rival acquired from Sheffield United for £24m and was substituted as a move option to the PL following a 5-0 loss to Man City at the end of August.
Since then, Bernd has played just one match in the top flight against Aston Villa on 19 March and Aaron has impressed enough to nail a place in Arteta’s plans while earning high international acclaim with England.
Bernd Leno said of losing his seat that it was a failure and a bitter moment. But according to Leno it’s a sport, they have to embrace it. It was not easy, but he did not feel sorry for himself, he wanted to attack again right away. Bernd doesn’t want to say that he was a pawn, but when the results are wrong, sometimes in football things happen quickly.
The coach wanted to set a new impetus – and then the results came. This was bittersweet for Leno, because he had held up well until then. According to Bernd Leno has never experienced anything like this in his career. But the German was looking ahead. His ambition is to always play, he knows what he can do. Bernd says he’s not 20 anymore, where he could say he still has time.
Gotta look ahead
Bernd has been on the Gunners’ books since 2018, making 125 appearances for the north London club over four seasons. Asked about the solution for him to step into a supporting role, Mikel Arteta told Bernd Leno that in the end, Mikel said the results were wrong and that he wanted to bring in new players. And when the results are good, of course it is logical that the change is not so strong in an established team.
According to Bernd, he was clearly informed that this had nothing to do with his performance and therefore it was difficult to accept at first. Leno has always played well in previous years and has almost never been injured. This hits the player hard. But, as Bernd Leno already said, there is no reason to feel sorry for yourself. You have to look ahead and keep working on yourself. Here is what Bernd did.