Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has admitted that he was left feeling "bitter" after being dropped by Mikel Arteta but remains determined to reclaim his place.
The 30-year-old started his fourth season at the Emirates as No.1 but after the Gunners lost their first three Premier League games and conceded nine goals, Arteta handed the gloves to Aaron Ramsdale, newly-signed from Sheffield United for £24million. Leno has been restricted to just five appearances since an in-form Ramsdale usurped him and has opened up watching from the bench whilst Arsenal have soared to Champions League contention.
"It was a setback and a bitter moment," the Germany international told Spox, via Goal. "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 [improved] 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'."
While Leno has come to accept the decision, he initially felt frustrated with Arteta. "In the end, he 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," the former Bayer Leverkusen star explained.
"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."
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Arteta still values his No.2, though, with the Gunners boss praising his attitude following their hard-fought 1-0 win at Aston Villa last month, Leno's first Premier League outing since starting the 5-0 hammering at Manchester City in August. "He had control, emotionally he was prepared and I'm really happy for him," Arteta said post-match, with Ramsdale ruled out through an injury which he has now recovered from ahead of Arsenal's clash with Brighton on Saturday.
"Obviously it's been a tough few months for him because he's always played in his career, but he has stayed there, Aaron has been here to support him and it's great to see those things. His reaction has been very good, accepting the role, it's very difficult not accepting it, but relaxing about it, just trying to push and improve in every area and this is what we want from our players."
With only one year left on his contract, Leno has been tipped to begin a fresh start during the upcoming summer transfer window, but his priority is to remain in north London and re-establish himself as their first-choice stopper. "You can't rule anything out anyway," he affirmed.
"I'm 30 years old, so you'd think that, despite the ambition and impatience, you might be a bit more relaxed about such a topic. 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."
A return to Leverkusen has also been touted, although Leno admitted: "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."
