Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno was deservedly crowned Player of the Month for the first time since he arrived in Emirates last summer, and is delighted with how well the Gunners’ fans have welcomed him to the club.
7-year-old goalkeeper made a string of superb stops in north London derby draw against Tottenham Hotspur, before keeping a clean sheet during Arsenal’s win over Manchester United, making a key save to deny Romelu Lukaku before half-time and then again after the interval.
“Each player wants to have good support from the fans. We all need the fans, me too, and it’s good to hear that fans like me or like the way that I play. I want to perform each game very well. But mostly I want to make sure the fans are happy as well.” Leno said.
“It’s difficult to go to another country and another league. The Premier League is completely different to the Champions League and Bundesliga. Everything is stronger but we analysed everything so I could get used to it. After a few weeks I was familiar with the football.” Leno added.
Leno moved to Arsenal for an initial £19.2m from Bayern Leverkusen. He made 230 appearances for Leverkusen across seven seasons in the Bundesliga and has won six caps for Germany but was not included in Joachim Low’s 23-man squad for the World Cup.
“The biggest challenge is that every game is so difficult for 95 minutes. In the Bundesliga, if you’re 2-0 or 3-0 up then the game is over. But in the PL, when you’re 2-0 or 3-0 up the game is still alive for the opposition. The speed of the game is higher than everywhere and that’s the reason why it’s the best league in the world.” Leno said.
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno saves again and again. (Source:www.premierleague.com)
“Coupled with that, the life of a goalkeeper is not easy. One day you are good, one day you are very bad. But you have to be very strong in your head and mind. This pushes every goalkeeper and keeps them focused at all times.” he added.
