Paul Merson raves about ‘absolutely outstanding’ Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno
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Paul Merson has heaped praise on Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno and says the German has been ‘absolutely outstanding’ this season. Leno signed a five-year contract with the Gunners in June after Arsenal agreed a £22.5million deal to sign the shot-stopper from Bayer Leverkusen. There were initial doubts over whether Leno, 26, or experienced rival Petr Cech would operate as new manager Unai Emery’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Emirates. But Leno has made the position his own in recent weeks and Merson has been impressed by his performances for the Gunners.
Arsenal have enjoyed a 17-game unbeaten run this term and beat Bournemouth on Sunday to move to within one point of a Champions League place. Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, Merson said: ‘[Leno] is doing really well, isn’t he? ‘He looks a good goalkeeper, he looks like he’s got a good temperament as well. ‘He’s made some great saves. They’re always out of danger, he doesn’t gamble, he doesn’t go “oh I think he’s going to hit it there”.
‘That’s reading the game to the highest level. He’s been outstanding, absolutely outstanding.’ Merson also said that Leno’s performances for his former team have ensured Cech is now ‘a million miles away’ from selection. He added: ‘There was talk when Cech got fit, people were wondering if he would come back in. ‘But now you’re thinking that’s a million miles away at the moment. A million miles away.’
Speaking after the 2-1 victory over Bournemouth, manager Emery said: ‘We’ve not lost for 17 matches but we’ve drawn some and that is not enough for us. ‘We spoke in the week about how important today was. ‘We are happy and before the match we knew it would be a difficult match and that we needed to win today to be near the top four. ‘Bournemouth were four points behind us and could have been near our position with a win.’
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