Bernd Leno says losing his place to early on in the season was a ‘bitter moment’ for him.
The German goalkeeper went into the campaign as Mikel Arteta’s No.1, but was dropped just three games in the Premier League campaign.
After the losses to Brentford, and , £30million summer signing Ramsdale was given a chance to prove himself.
The former Sheffield United stopper quickly established himself as Arteta’s first choice and has produced a string of top displays between the sticks.
In an interview with , Leno described how it felt being dropped, and revealed the reasoning Arteta gave him for the decision.
‘It was a setback and a bitter moment. But that’s sport, you have to accept that. It wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t feel sorry for myself, I wanted to attack again immediately.
‘I don’t want to say I was a pawn, but when the results aren’t right, sometimes things happen quickly in football. The coach wanted to set a new impulse – and then the results came. That was bitter for me, because I had held up well before that.
‘I had never experienced anything like that in my career before. But I looked ahead. My ambition is to always play, I know what I can do. I’m not 20 anymore, where I could say: ‘I still have time’.’
‘In the end, he [Arteta] said that the results weren’t right and that he wanted to bring in new players. And when the results are good, it is of course logical that you don’t change so much in a well-established team,’ Leno added.
‘It was clearly communicated to me that it had nothing to do with my performance and was therefore difficult to accept at first.
‘I had always played well in the years before and was hardly ever injured. That hits you hard. But as I said, there’s no reason to feel sorry for yourself. You have to look ahead and keep working on yourself. That’s what I did.’
Addressing his future at the north London club, with the goalkeeper’s contract due to expire in June 2023, Leno said: ‘Of course, there are always approaches. But, it’s about playing here. That’s my first ambition.
‘If the club plans otherwise, they have to approach me. Of course, my agency and I are keeping an eye on the situation.’
On whether he could return to former club Bayer Leverkusen, Leno added: ‘I read that too, but I don’t know anything about it.
‘They also said I would definitely want to return to my home country, but that’s not true. As I said, we feel completely at home here, even if things aren’t going so well for me at the moment.’
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