Bernd Leno has insisted that he wasn’t worried about losing his starting spot, after he put in a brilliant performance for Arsenal on Thursday. Leno and company overcame Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, to move on to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face holders Manchester City.
The North London club played their second game at Anfield this week, but the result was very different this time around. After it ended 0-0 in normal time, it was Leno who stepped up during the ensuing penalty shootout, as he saved two spot kicks, helping the North Londoners clinch the tie.
Earlier in the season, there was speculation about who was going to be the number one keeper at the Emirates. The late season heroics of Emiliano Martinez had made a strong case for him to be considered and the Argentine even started in the Community Shield.
With Martinez moving to Premier League side Aston Villa, it was evident that Arteta had more belief in Leno, and he lived up to his billing with a tremendous performance against the Premier League champions.
After the game, he was quoted by Sky Sports:
“I never feared it [losing the No 1 spot]. Because the club always gave me the feeling that I was the No 1. I am the No1, I was the No1 and I will be the No1. That was always very good from the club. My job was to prove it every week and I think I did that tonight again.”
?"The club always gives me the feeling that I was the number 1, I am the number 1 and will be the number 1"
Bernd Leno is confident he's number 1 for Arsenal pic.twitter.com/W0sjPESj2m
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 1, 2020
It was always going to be a tough game for the Gunners, and they needed their keeper to be at his best. Even though there were many youngsters on the pitch, this was still a strong Liverpool side with players such as Mo Salah to provide a strong test for Bernd Leno.
Getting the win on Thursday Merseyside will somewhat make up for the loss they suffered on Monday. They can take a lot of positives from this performance into their upcoming matches. The Carabao Cup is a competition that the Emirates club should be looking to win, and they are on the right track.