Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno has admitted he “had to change clubs” in the summer after it became “very hard” for him at Arsenal.
The German goalkeeper joined the Gunners in a €25m deal from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018 and quickly established himself as their number one over the coming years.
It did not prove to be a happy relationship, though, with Leno never truly proving to be the long-term answer that the club were looking for.
Arsenal’s decision to sign Aaron Ramsdale in 2021 only helped to push him further down the pecking order, with the England goalkeeper quickly proving himself as Mikel Arteta’s preferred choice.
That saw Leno manage just eight appearances in all competitions last season, playing less than 720 minutes in total and featuring just four times in the Premier League.
That led to a move to Fulham in the summer in a €3.6m deal, where he has established himself as the first-choice and has impressed during a superb campaign for Marco Silva’s side so far.
The decision to leave Arsenal has proven to be a smart one and he now admits that he knew he had to move on.
“Last year at Arsenal was the first time in my career that I only played ten competitive games in a season. But I found my form and my rhythm relatively quickly at Fulham and performed well,” he told Kicker.
“It was very hard, but I knew it was no use feeling sorry for myself. So, I kept working hard on myself. I didn’t do anything wrong at Arsenal and they could always rely on me in my three years as number 1.
“It was a change of club, not an escape. The situation was that the club had said they wanted to continue with young players.
“If the club tells you that you won’t be training with the team anymore and other things like that, then you have to accept that. That’s also part of the business. And that’s why I was allowed to move in the summer for just £3m.
“It wouldn’t have done me any good to say: I’ll chill here for a year and take the money with me – and in the end I’ll be completely out of the window. So, I had to change clubs.”
