Unai Emery, Rob Holding and Bernd Leno all gave their thoughts on the goalkeeper’s debut Premier League performance after the win over Watford on Saturday.
Leno had to jump unexpectedly into the action this weekend after Petr Cech picked up what looked like a hamstring injury. The German played the entire second half and managed to help Arsenal maintain their clean sheet.
Afterwards, Emery gave his thoughts on the goalkeeper’s time with Arsenal so far, as well as his first Premier League appearance in particular.
“He is working very well with the goalkeeping coaches, I’ve spoken with him,” Emery said. “What’s most important is that when the team needs him, he helps us. He’s prepared and he did that well against Vorskla, on Wednesday and today.
“It’s the same with Emi Martinez. We have three very good goalkeepers. Petr Cech’s performances and experience are very important for us. I think Bernd Leno can learn from training with Petr Cech every day.
“I am very convinced with him! He played because of an injury to Petr Cech but I am very happy with him. He has waited for his moment. It’s arriving and the performance is the best for him and for us.”
Rob Holding also gave credit to the 26-year-old for his part in the Arsenal win.
“It’s nice to get another [clean sheet] and keep that run going, but we knew that with Bernd coming in that he’s got the quality,” Holding insisted. “We saw it in the Europa League and the Carabao cup games that he’s good with his feet and plays the style that we want to play.”
‘It was a good game for me with a difficult start’
Leno himself spoke to Arsenal Player about how he thinks the match went. He admitted it wasn’t exactly the ideal time to make his debut, but believes he did well with the opportunity.
“It was a difficult start when you don’t think you’re going to play and then Petr is injured – I hope he will get well soon,” he began. “It was a good game for me with a difficult start, but I think that I made some good saves and we kept a clean sheet, so I’m happy with my first game in the Premier League.
“You can think too much [in the half-time break], but I have to warm up to concentrate on the game. I was good in the game, so it was good for my feeling for my self-confidence. I had a solid game.
“Of course, I didn’t play so many games [before Saturday], but my feeling was very good and I feel like the team is very nice. The club is like a family and I love this, so let’s keep this going on.”
Overall, it seems Leno, his coach and his teammates were pleased with his performance. As long as they all continue to have confidence in him, I’m sure Arsenal will reap the rewards of that. Having a goalkeeper you believe in allows you to make better defensive decisions more consistently, which in turn helps the goalkeeper to perform as well.
Let’s hope the former Bayer Leverkusen man has another good game against Qarabag on Thursday.