Aaron Ramsdale has caused a fresh problem for goalkeeping rival Bernd Leno that is set to push the German even further towards an exit from Arsenal
Leno started the season as the Gunner's first-choice keeper, featuring in all three of their opening Premier League games. Mikel Arteta's men lost all of those matches though, conceding nine goals in the process.
Arteta had long-held concerns that Leno was not the right fit for his style of play and as a result, signed Ramsdale for a fee approaching £30million. The Englishman took over as the Gunners' number one after the season's first international break and has been ever-present in the Premier League since then.
Leno meanwhile has been restricted to appearances in the cup competitions, but Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest in the third round. His failure to take his place back from Ramsdale has now also cost him dearly on the international stage.
The 30-year-old has featured in every Germany squad since June 2019, earning six caps for Die Mannschaft. But Hansi Flick has omitted Leno from his latest squad amid his lack of game-time at the Emirates Stadium.
Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp are the goalkeepers to have been called up instead of Leno. Germany will take on Israel and the Netherlands in the international window starting next week, with Flick insisting his side are optimistic heading into the World Cup year.
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"It's nice how the players pull together, how everyone implements the guidelines well. You can feel a spirit of optimism there. Everyone wants to be there in Qatar. Everyone wants to be world champions. That's our big goal," Flick told ARD Sportschau.
"We're not stacking too low. We want to try to always bring our performance into the game. We have a very strong team as opponents in the Nations League, but also in March with Holland."
Leno already appeared to be on the verge of leaving Arsenal, but with his place in the Germany squad now gone, that should speed his departure up. Ramsdale meanwhile continues to go from strength to strength, keeping 12 clean sheets in the top-flight so far this season.
He did make a poor error against Liverpool on Wednesday, which ultimately cost Arsenal the game, though he was still named in the England squad to face the Ivory Coast and Switzerland. And Arteta believes that he will now be pushing Jordan Pickford for the Three Lions' number one shirt.
"He's there now and he's going to be fighting for a place. Knowing Aaron he's going to be pushing it very hard because it's one of his biggest dreams. Then it will be down to the coaching staff and the manager to decide who should be there in goal," Arteta said.
"He was gutted after the match and it's normal because he's so competitive. It's about how you react in those moments. He wants to be there the next day, he wants to go and practice, he wants to see. He's very critical of himself so sometimes he needs help to put things into perspective and for him to realise how much he has contributed to the team."
