Bernd Leno: Talk of the Show

[El Granit-Coq]

people forget that PEA and Mhki have been here for only 6 months. PEA is a marquee signing and imo everyone else would’ve considered Mhki to be as well before he went to United and got Mourinhoed. Now is the time for smart signings rather than spectacular. More so than the budget we are hampered by lack of champions league. Why would an Allison or Oblak come here?

Tbh I’m surprised that Torrieia is coming. A lot of Serie A experts rate him amongst the best young midfielders in Italy. If he was a bit taller we may not have had him.

It’s right to expect the best imo, but even then I think some people are being ungrateful or should I say unrealistic. Given the constraints that are on us, I think our business thus far has been excellent

A lot of fans tend to evaluate the window based on how other teams are doing and if the name is not a household one, then it doesn't seem like a marquee signing.

PEA, Lacazette and Mkhi all in one window, that is 3 big names already in the team sheet as recent signings. Smart buys are often not appreciated. Look how long it took for people to appreciate the impact of Mikel, Cazorla and the BFG. And most recently the likes of El Nenny. They are smart buys that won't have the world raving but still provide a solid foundation to move onto bigger signings.

We want the big names, but we tend to forget the big names want the big teams. Leno for example would be a great choice for any top side, only issue being that most top sides have just as good if not better options as starters. Same with PEA and Lacazette, any top team with a deficiency of attackers would have pounced at them.

We currently have a WC attack, good enough on paper to be on par with the big teams. We have a decent midfield base with the addition of Torreira and retaining of El Nenny and Xhaka (not exactly WC but good enough to not be overshadowed). Our GK options are now on par with the big teams as Leno is in the same bracket as most of the top GKs bar Neuer and DDG. A bit lower due to injury than Oblak, Courtois, Ederson et al but not that far behind.

We are moving towards a future where our first team is solid enough to compete with the Elite and only difference being the quality of our squad depth. With some outgoings (Wilshere etc) we are bound to bolster our depth even if it means getting promising youngsters.

 

[Stannis]

It’s not that Leno is a bad player but we had four gaps in the squad and filled all of them with smart signings. Would have liked one of them to be a big signing and most expected that big signing to be in goal.

People are expecting a winger and one would be nice but I won’t be surprised if we’re done for the summer.

Realistically though who is there that we could have gotten that would be marquee, especially considering no champions league? That rules out the likes of Alisson, Fabhibo and Koulibaly.

I think Torreira is as big (excuse the pun) as it gets for us, unless the 1% happens and we get Dembele on loan.

Perhaps de Ligt could have been considered a big signing, but I struggle to think of anyone else.

 

[ArtetaCognition]

Leno is an upgrade on Cech, Leichsteiner is back up to Bellerin (we didnt have cover) Sokratis will be our best CB, and Torreira has the potential to be a great player, he will be a starter straight away. Not sure what your idea of a stellar signing is but from what I see this is becoming a stellar window, putting us in the position to regain top 4, winning the PL will come later!

Agree with this. This window has been very stellar.. plugging the gaps we need with great signings on the budget that Kroenke (who must go, of course) has given us.

Only thing I disagree with is Bellerin ahead of Lichtsteiner. I know he's younger and it wouldn't be good business to bench him for an extended period of time... but Lichtsteiner is probably better than him in every department.

Re: Leno, I am looking forward to seeing him at Arsenal. He's a goalkeeper whose game is based on positioning and reflexes from what I have seen of him. People judging him off of some howler they watched on YouTube are daft.. I could put a video together to make De Gea or Neuer look like trash in about 10 mins.

 

[Flying Okapis]

It’s not that Leno is a bad player but we had four gaps in the squad and filled all of them with smart signings. Would have liked one of them to be a big signing and most expected that big signing to be in goal.

People are expecting a winger and one would be nice but I won’t be surprised if we’re done for the summer.

Is this referring to Oblak/Alisson?

Were people actually expecting either of them two to be starting in goal for us next year? All this talk that we should have signed Oblak is crazy, his price is high and he also plays for a team who just retained Griezmann on the promise that they will invest heavily in the squad and challenge next year, they are just about to drop top doller on Lemar and knocked us out the EL, was never going to happen. Alisson high price and will hold out for a big club if he continues to perform at a high level.

 

[Mraven]

Re: Leno, I am looking forward to seeing him at Arsenal. He's a goalkeeper whose game is based on positioning and reflexes from what I have seen of him. People judging him off of some howler they watched on YouTube are daft.. I could put a video together to make De Gea or Neuer look like trash in about 10 mins.

I don’t think it’s all about the videoes. His stats are quite underwhelming too.

 

[Fawwaz Ahmed]

Can anyone who has genuinely watched Leno play a number of games, tell what we should expect from him.

What are his strongest traits and weakness?

Is he good at playing out from the back or kicking accurately, two things I think we have been severely lacking from our keepers. Can he handle crosses?

 

[Trilly]

Realistically though who is there that we could have gotten that would be marquee, especially considering no champions league? That rules out the likes of Alisson, Fabhibo and Koulibaly.

I think Torreira is as big (excuse the pun) as it gets for us, unless the 1% happens and we get Dembele on loan.

Perhaps de Ligt could have been considered a big signing, but I struggle to think of anyone else.

You’re right mate and I think we’ve actually made good signings. Would have just been very happy if we had done a mazza and signed someone marquee. It’s fine, Auba in January is still good enough for me. That was a huge signing.

 

[Mark Tobias]

A lot of fans tend to evaluate the window based on how other teams are doing and if the name is not a household one, then it doesn't seem like a marquee signing.

PEA, Lacazette and Mkhi all in one window, that is 3 big names already in the team sheet as recent signings. Smart buys are often not appreciated. Look how long it took for people to appreciate the impact of Mikel, Cazorla and the BFG. And most recently the likes of El Nenny. They are smart buys that won't have the world raving but still provide a solid foundation to move onto bigger signings.

We want the big names, but we tend to forget the big names want the big teams. Leno for example would be a great choice for any top side, only issue being that most top sides have just as good if not better options as starters. Same with PEA and Lacazette, any top team with a deficiency of attackers would have pounced at them.

We currently have a WC attack, good enough on paper to be on par with the big teams. We have a decent midfield base with the addition of Torreira and retaining of El Nenny and Xhaka (not exactly WC but good enough to not be overshadowed). Our GK options are now on par with the big teams as Leno is in the same bracket as most of the top GKs bar Neuer and DDG. A bit lower due to injury than Oblak, Courtois, Ederson et al but not that far behind.

We are moving towards a future where our first team is solid enough to compete with the Elite and only difference being the quality of our squad depth. With some outgoings (Wilshere etc) we are bound to bolster our depth even if it means getting promising youngsters.

Just want to correct you. We didn't buy Lacazette and PEA in the same window although it felt like it. Otherwise a fantastic post with a lot of perspective.

 

[say yes]

Best summer of transfer business in living memory.

 

[albakos]

Best summer of transfer business in living memory.

I think summer of 2014 was better as we got some established players
Sanchez, Welbeck, Ospina , Debuchy and Chambers

Although not all of them succeeded, after winning the FA Cup in 2014, there was a feeling that this is it, we meant real business from then on.

 

[Makingtrax]

Will be reserving my judgement until I’ve seen these recent/possible signings play a few games for us.

Getting a decent CB, RB, Keeper and Midfielder for about the same price as Lacazette in this inflationary market seems incredible.

Whether they can help turn us into a top 4 side remains to be seen. All you can say at this stage is that Sven’s found four players to fill the necessary gaps on Kroenke’s budget, so part 1 complete.

 

[say yes]

I think summer of 2014 was better as we got some established players
Sanchez, Welbeck, Ospina , Debuchy and Chambers

Although not all of them succeeded, after winning the FA Cup in 2014, there was a feeling that this is it, we meant real business from then on.

That summer looks exiciting in hindsight because of Sanchez but we (again) failed to address the two biggest weaknesses in our squad - CF and DM. Very limited improvements to a questionable defence as well. Remember being furious at the time.

No comparison with Leno, Sokratis, Torreira and Litchsteiner for me. Each addresses a specific weakness in our squad. And this window still has ages to go.

 

[celestis]

That summer looks exiciting in hindsight because of Sanchez but we (again) failed to address the two biggest weaknesses in our squad - CF and DM. Very limited improvements to a questionable defence as well. Remember being furious at the time.

No comparison with Leno, Sokratis, Torreira and Litchsteiner for me. Each addresses a specific weakness in our squad. And this window still has ages to go.

Don't know mate time will tell if Leno and Sokratis are an improvement on what we have .

 

[razörist]

Don't know mate time will tell if Leno and Sokratis are an improvement on what we have .

Surely sokratis is mate?

 

[celestis]

Surely sokratis is mate?

I don't know from what I have seen of him , which is not a lot admittedly .
Have you see watched a lot of him ? What's your opinion ?

 

[razörist]

I don't know from what I have seen of him , which is not a lot admittedly .
Have you see watched a lot of him ? What's your opinion ?

Is 30 games in 4 years a lot? Not that much tbh but I have a clear memory of this player. He's tough, good in the air, positionally smart, faster than you would expect, and he is not daft and aggressive in his challenges like Mustafi. One word I remember him most by is concentration, he's in the zone for 90 minutes + added time you know. Some times I feel like our defense falls asleep during periods in the game. He never does that.

 

[TakeChillPill]

Haven't seen much of him at all. I don't to read too much in to his Arsenal Interview but he looked nervous and almost surprised Arsenal were interested. That doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence. A top player/goal keeper needs to exude self belief and confidence in their ability.

As someone mentioned who's watched him a lot, he can be mentally fragile... I just hope that we can get some sports psychologist on the case and make him believe he's superman.

 

[tap-in]

Agree with this. This window has been very stellar.. plugging the gaps we need with great signings on the budget that Kroenke (who must go, of course) has given us.

Only thing I disagree with is Bellerin ahead of Lichtsteiner. I know he's younger and it wouldn't be good business to bench him for an extended period of time... but Lichtsteiner is probably better than him in every department.

Re: Leno, I am looking forward to seeing him at Arsenal. He's a goalkeeper whose game is based on positioning and reflexes from what I have seen of him. People judging him off of some howler they watched on YouTube are daft.. I could put a video together to make De Gea or Neuer look like trash in about 10 mins.

Ok I should have said Lichtsteiner in to compete with Bellerin. I agree, he's a very good player and better than Bellerin on many levels. It could be what Bellerin needs because he hasn't really improved as hoped, although I'm sure he can improve a lot.

 

[say yes]

Don't know mate time will tell if Leno and Sokratis are an improvement on what we have .

Genuinely find it impossible to believe that Leno and Sokratis won’t be an improvement on Cech and Mustafi.

 

[Mark Tobias]

I think summer of 2014 was better as we got some established players
Sanchez, Welbeck, Ospina , Debuchy and Chambers

Although not all of them succeeded, after winning the FA Cup in 2014, there was a feeling that this is it, we meant real business from then on.

So true. How short some of our memories are. Thanks Albakos.