Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has claimed he was "surprised" by comments from former goalkeeper Bernd Leno, where he aimed a dig at the club. The 30-year-old claimed there were "politics" in the culture of the Gunners and blamed it for decisions made that forced his exit.
The Germany international left this summer after four-years at the Emirates, having joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018. Leno became the regular first-team goalkeeper at Arsenal, taking the gloves from Petr Cech after his fading form and subsequent retirement from the sport.
The shot-stopper went on to make 125 appearances for the Gunners, keeping 37 clean sheets and conceding 145 goals in that time. The German took the role of goalkeeper at a difficult time for the club, playing during a transition post-Arsene Wenger where results and form took a dip.
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He held down the role for three-years before losing out to Aaron Ramsdale, who joined the club from Sheffield United last summer. It didn't take long for the incoming glovesman to stake his claim for the first-team shirt, doing so early into his Arsenal career to oust Leno.
With a lack of game time and a World Cup on the horizon, the goalkeeper decided to leave the club for Fulham in the summer for £8million. However, in a recent interview with SportBILD, per Sportbuzzer. "During the preparation, I saw that it's not about performance, it's just about politics. It was clear to me: I have to get out of here."
After the damning statement, Arsenal manager Arteta seemed taken aback by the comments, saying ahead of his side's clash with FC Zurich: "I’m really surprised and I don't know if he’s talking about the politics when he was starting every match or the politics when he wasn’t playing. Really surprised about it."
It remains to be seen whether Leno will clarify what he means by those comments, however it may be something that causes little change at the club.
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