Arsenal news: Shkodran Mustafi confident Bernd Leno has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League
Leno was signed from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for £19.2m in June but he is still waiting to make his first Premier League appearance
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi believes his new team-mate Bernd Leno has what it takes to become a success in the Premier League, describing the club’s summer signing as “the ideal modern goalkeeper”.
Leno was signed from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for £19.2m in June but he is still waiting on his first Premier League appearance, after Unai Emery stuck with Petr Cech in goals for the losses to Manchester City and Chelsea.
Emery’s decision to start Cech in both matches raised some eyebrows considering he wants Arsenal to begin playing the ball out from the back with more regularity, and the 36-year-old had some nervy moments in possession in both matches.
Whether he retains his place for this weekend’s match against West Ham remains to be seen, with Mustafi making clear that Leno has what it takes to impress if he is given the nod.
“I know Bernd very well because we played together since the Under-15s German team, so I have known him for a long time,” Mustafi said. “He is a brilliant goalkeeper. He has everything a modern keeper needs: good feet, good hands and he has personality.”
Which goalkeeper should be picked to start the match is far from the only selection issue Emery is currently deliberating.
Aaron Ramsey was dropped for Saturday’s loss to Chelsea, while there are also question marks over Mesut Ozil, who has been ineffectual in both of the club’s matches this season.
But Mustafi has said the competition for places only makes the club stronger.
“Competition is something that brings you to the next level, because if you have no competition and you know you are starting week in, week out, it takes a little bit of the quality [away],” he added.
“When you know you have someone standing on your toes, you are going to be try and be better and better every week.
“Competition is right but it has to be healthy. For us it is because we are in a good team spirit. Everyone is quite happy with the people we have in the changing room. There’s no people fighting each other or something like this. There is competition but healthy competition and that is something that is going to bring us forward.”
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