Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has thanked the Gunners' fans for their support after completing his transfer to Fulham.
The Germany international moved to north London in 2018 as one of Unai Emery's first signings, keeping his place as first-choice when Mikel Arteta took over. That changed last season, though, and the 30-year-old has made the move in an effort to give himself first-team football and a chance of a World Cup call-up.
Leno has joined Fulham for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £8m. He has put pen to paper on a three-year deal, with Marco Silva's side holding an option to extend it by a further 12 months.
"Hey @ Arsenal fans, it’s time to move on for me." Leno wrote on Twitter. "It’s been a pleasure to be part of this great football club for 4 amazing years.
"Thank you very much for your support. Also a big thank you to my team mates and the staff behind the team. I‘m looking forward to see you soon!"
The former Bayer Leverkusen keeper won't have long to wait until his first reunion with his old club. Fulham travel to Arsenal in their fourth game of the new season, on August 27, by which point both sides are likely to have done most of the rest of their summer business.
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Leno is Fulham's fourth senior signing of the window, and their second direct from a Premier League club. Joao Palhinha has arrived from Sporting CP, with the midfielder joined by Manchester United academy graduate Andreas Pereira and former Wolfsburg and Newcastle United defender Kevin Mbabu before manager Marco Silva got his new goalkeeper.
“It feels amazing to finally be here," Leno told FFCtv. "I can’t wait to join the team, to train and play with the team.
“I’m relieved that everything is done. I’m just happy to be here. It took a little bit of time but in the end we made it, and that’s the most important thing.”
The German is the second goalkeeper to leave Arsenal this summer after youngster Arthur Okonkwo joined Crewe Alexandra on loan. The Gunners still have three options between the sticks - Aaron Ramsdale, Alex Runarsson and summer signing Matt Turner.
After losing his starting spot to Ramsdale last season, Leno featured just eight times in all competitions. Still, even as he watched on from the bench for much of the campaign, manager Arteta praised his attitude.
"What you want to have is in every position players that are reliable and can perform, whether they've been playing recently or not," the Spaniard said. “In the goalkeeping position it's no different, that is why we bought Aaron, to get the standards higher, to bring different qualities, different ways of understanding and acting during matches, and different experiences."
