When Bernd Leno Speaks, We Must All Listen by AI
The soft-spoken German opened up recently about the state of the Arsenal squad under Mikel Arteta and the picture he painted is exactly what we all suspected back then. Here’s what the shotstopper said: “He has, in this short time made a big impact,” Leno said. “You can see the intensity we play, also the structure in the team and the mentality [away] from the pitch.”
“Before I don’t want to say it was a mess it was a little bit confusing, everyone was doing different things.”
“We were not a team! Not in the dressing room, not on the pitch and you could see this. I think with Mikel its changed completely.”
“The first day he came he wasn’t talking too much about tactics, he was talking about how we behave in the dressing room, when we go to the games we have to be more professional and more like a team.”
Pretty damning and encouraging comments. And this was the team that Bernd Leno had to literally cover up for with incredible save after save. Yet we did not heard a word of complaint from the goalkeeper, no hint of a transfer agitation. For him, this was his job and duty: to look after Baby Arsenal’s ass and prevent him from making too much of a mess.
We must appreciate Bernd Leno more than we already do. Right from his first day at the club, he’s been an example and model of a consummate professional, a man who’d walk through hell and pick up the litter if that was his job. The exact type of dedicated professional that ought to be playing for The Arsenal. Gratefully, it seems that the board recognizes this and as of recent, the players that are been targeted are not far from the dedication and professionalism of Bernd Leno: Tierney, Martinelli, Torreira etc. These people come in and provide admirable performances, avoiding drama and toxicity. They just want to win, make tackles, score goals and keep cleansheets. We can’t ask for much more than that. In fact, that is all we ask for.
Bernd Leno is therefore deserving of our deepest respects and our attention when he makes a statement. That is the very least such consummate professionals deserve.
Agboola Israel