Arsenal: Yes, if true, this is who Bernd Leno is

Arsenal reportedly played a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford on Thursday in which Bernd Leno spilled a cross for the winning goal. If true, it should be no surprise. This is who he is.

As the preseason rumbles on and Unai Emery continues to prepare his new squad for the first Arsene Wenger-less season at Arsenal for more than 20 years, the competition for places, both in the squad rotation and starting XI, slowly heats up.

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One position that it is especially fiery is goalkeeper. In Petr Cech and David Ospina, Emery already had two starting-calibre goalkeepers, though with their own flaws, to choose between. Add to that the return of Emiliano Martinez from a loan season at Getafe who showed flashes prior to last season, and you have the makings of a fight for position.

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And then Sven Mislintat worked his magic in the transfer window, adding 26-year-old Bayer Leverkusen shot-stopper Bernd Leno who has been starting between the sticks since the tender age of 20 displaying great natural ability and inexorable potential. The competition just heated up somewhat. And Emery has stated that he will let each of them battle it out over the summer as he continues to formulate his plans for the position.

As such, each of their performances in the upcoming and ongoing preseason friendlies will be important, which is bad news for Leno. Now, the details are a little sketchy, which perhaps tells you all you need to know, but Arsenal played a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford on Thursday. That much we do know. The score, reportedly, was 2-1 to Brentford with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the Gunners’ only goal.

It was at the other end where the real development came. Leno allegedly spilled a cross that allowed Brentford to score the winning goal. Now, the result does not matter. There were no points on offer; this is a non-competitive match. But the process does. That is what is repeated throughout the season, even if the result may change from week to week, and if Leno is making this kind of mistake in the preseason, then he will surely make similar ones in the season.

Unfortunately, though, this should not come as a surprise. This is who Leno is. He may be a wonderfully gifted goalkeeper with the physical tools to develop into a truly elite player, but he has always made stupid errors. When he was younger, the thought was that as he grew, developed and improved, he would iron out those mistakes. We are still waiting for that to happen.

There were some fans who were naively optimistic about the Leno signing. These are the same kind of fans that are naively optimistic about every signing that Arsenal ever have and ever will make. They often look at the flashy saves, the silky tricks, the tantalising touches or attractive athleticism, only to forget that football is a game in which the boring basics are important, however much they may be forever overlooked.

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This is just who Leno is, a good goalkeeper that is simultaneously capable of the spectacular and the stupid. It’s up to Emery to decide whether he is willing to ride the rough with the smooth because there will, without doubt, be some rough patches ahead.