Despite the German keeper Bernd Leno arriving with a big fanfare in the summer, I always insisted that Petr Cech would continue to be Arsenal’s Number One this season while the younger man settled in and learned about life in the Premier League.
That proved to be correct and Leno himself is happy to wait for his chance to step up to the plate. ‘I am convinced that my change was the right decision,’ he said. ‘I’m not crazy. It may take a few weeks or months, but my time here will come.’
Emery’s choice has also been vindicated in the fact that Cech is actually the top shot-stopper in the League, according to the early stats, having saved 18 of the 24 shots on his goal. It doesn’t say a lot about our defence though who are giving our opponents space at an alarming rate!
But I am sure Leno will get to play in the League Cup and the Caraboa Cup to give him his first taste of English football, as Emery himself said after our first match against Man City: ‘We want the competition with the goalkeeper and also every player in the squad,’
‘The position is the same. The same chances for all the goalkeepers.
‘Petr Cech had a very good pre-season. He has experience of continuing to defend our goal.
‘Leno is [just] starting with us, he is working very well and also played very good in pre-season. He can wait his moment.’
At least we will see lots of Leno in less competitive games (like Brentford in the Carabao Cup) so we can see how he has progressed since his arrival, before putting him in the deep end. Or do you think we should be playing him in games like Cardiff away tomorrow?
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