Bernd Leno slams politics at Arsenal
Karan Tejwani
- 8 Sept 2022 09:10 BST
- 3 min read
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno has spoken out about his time at Arsenal, believing it wasn’t his performances that got him sold from the club.
The German moved to Fulham after four years at the Emirates Stadium, and he lost his place in the first-team last season, following the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United.
He moved to the fellow London club in an £8 million move in the hope of getting more game time and keeping up his chances of making it into Germany’s squad ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Leno only made eight appearances for Arsenal last season, which wasn’t enough for him as he hoped to get more time on the pitch.
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Leno unhappy with "politics"
Prior to that, Leno was the undisputed first-choice as he joined the club at a time where Arsenal wanted to replace Petr Cech, who was in the final spell of his career.
Upon Mikel Arteta’s arrival, things changed, and by the start of the 2021-22 season, Arsenal spent big to get Ramsdale, completely limiting Leno’s opportunities and forcing him to look for a move elsewhere.
Leno spoke about the situation to German outlet Sport Bild: “When I realised that it wasn’t about performance or quality, I knew that I had to go."
Big win tonight ⚫️⚪️ your support was from a different world 😍🔥 pic.twitter.com/mtTPWcIJiR
— Bernd Leno (@Bernd_Leno) August 30, 2022
The German goalkeeper continued: “In preparation, I saw that it is not about performance, but only about politics. It was clear to me: I had to get out of here.”
Leno has had a good start to life with Fulham, as the Cottagers are looking to ensure Premier League survival this season, and have already started well in that goal.
Fulham currently sit 10th in the table, with two wins, draws and losses each and are four points clear of West Ham United in 18th – an encouraging sign for the rest of the season.
