Bengaluru, August 23: Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi believes that goalkeeper Bernd Leno, signed in the summer transfer window from Bayer Leverkusen, will soon be handed the opportunity to prove himself.
Despite signing with the Gunners on a deal worth 20 million pounds, Leno is yet to make his Premier League debut for Arsenal. Veteran Petr Cech started as the No 1 in both of Arsenal's Premier League fixtures against Manchester City and Chelsea, pushing Leno to the bench.
This has raised concerns over the German shot-stopper's future at the club among fans.
"I am very happy with his performance. He has experience, he has quality, he has the capacity. Also, with Bernd Leno [it’s the same]. They are two goalkeepers who are important for us."
— Arsenal vs West Ham United Live Stream (@Arsenal__Live) August 17, 2018
- Unai Emery on Cech pic.twitter.com/M4XUFrIpUm
However, Leno's compatriot and teammate Mustafi has dismissed the concerns surrounding the young keeper and has revealed that Leno has every bit of quality to become the Gunners number 1 in the future. Mustafi says it won't be long before the 26-year-old is given the chance to prove he can be Cech's long-term successor.
"I know Bernd very well because we played together since the Under-15s German team, so I have known him for a long time," said the centre-back.
"He is a brilliant goalkeeper. He has everything a modern keeper needs: good feet, good hands and he has personality."
Leno's exclusion isn't the only surprise that new Arsenal coach Unai Emery has provided. The Spaniard showed he won't tolerate a bad performance by anyone when he dropped Arsene Wenger's old guard from the squad in the first two games.
Jens Lehmann on Bernd Leno not being picked for Arsenal: "I don't know how he's doing in training, but it tells you something if a guy who cost £20m, and has been chosen by the new manager, is not playing."
— UNILAD Sport (@UNILADFooty) August 15, 2018
Should Leno replace Cech? pic.twitter.com/K0Fc5C8V1j
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey had to start on the bench against Chelsea last week following a poor performance against Manchester City in Arsenal's opening Premier League game. Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka too were taken off the pitch at Stamford Bridge because of their poor contributions.
Ozil fighting for Arsenal future: Neville
Alexandre Lacazette though has not been given a chance in the starting line-up yet by Emery.
But as per Mustafi, this kind of situation is possible only because there is a quality pool of players in the squad at the moment.
"Competition is something that brings you to the next level, because if you have no competition and you know you are starting week in, week out, it takes a little bit of the quality [away]," he said.
"When you know you have someone standing on your toes, you are going to be try and be better and better every week.
"Competition is right but it has to be healthy. For us it is because we are in a good team spirit. Everyone is quite happy with the people we have in the changing room. There's no people fighting each other or something like this. There is competition but healthy competition and that is something that is going to bring us forward."
🔴⚪️ 18 passes involving 10 players resulting in a goal doing it the Unai Emery way 💯 ⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/Czsl17CUA5
— Gooner Nick (@NickVann1987) August 22, 2018
This is the first time since 1992 that Arsenal have suffered two back-to-back defeats in the opening two games. The North London side almost surrendered against Manchester City in the first game, losing 0-2, before giving an improved performance in the 2-3 defeat against Chelsea.
But after a string of big games, Arsenal have a relatively calm period in the Premier League. They are up against West Ham United this weekend, a side that is also recorded two losses out of two.