Arsenal: Bernd Leno makes but doesn’t confirm his case

Bernd Leno was Arsenal’s best player in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves. The German makes his case to be the long-term goalkeeper, but he has a lot of work to do to confirm it.

It says a lot about the overall performance when the goalkeeper is the best player on the team. But for Arsenal, in Sunday’s hard-fought, last-gasp 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, that was precisely the case. Bernd Leno was the best player for the Gunners, and by some distance at that.

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Wolves attacked their hosts on the counter-attack with a series of direct attacks designed to exploit the space in behind the high defensive line that Unai Emery likes to deploy. It worked. And Leno was forced into action frequently as a result.

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Two saves in particular were emblematic of Leno’s performance. Both were similar. Against left-footed attackers, — Helder Costa in the first half and Adama Traore extremely late on — coming in from the left side and looking to curl a low effort into the far bottom corner, Leno charged down the angle excellently, stretched out every sinew of his body, foot, leg, hand and all, to cover all of the angles and block away the shot.

Those chances were gilt-edged opportunities. Wolves should have scored at the very least one of them, if not both. But thanks to the intelligence, the reactions, the decision-making and the athleticism of Leno, they scored neither. That is why Arsenal head home with a point in their back pocket. And after the match, Emery highlighted the performance of his goalkeeper:

"“We knew that today we needed the goalkeeper with his performance, because when we are taking risks in our attacking moments, and to give them a transition and options in the transitional moments we would need the goalkeeper. Today I thought his performance was good for us.”"

Leno has certainly made his case to be the starter this season. Although Petr Cech, his competitor, did little to lose his place other than suffer an unfortunate injury, Leno has performed well in his absence and, with his greater potential, future longevity, and comfort with his feet, has established himself as the long-term option, at least for now.

And that is crucial for Leno. While he made a good case on Sunday, such are responsibilities of his position, one game does not make him a solution. Perhaps the most important trait for a goalkeeper — or any defensive player, for that matter — is consistency. Obviously, Leno cannot prove that he is consistent, reliable, invariable in one match. And that is why he is yet to fully confirm his case as the sure-fire starter.

This was a very promising performance, for sure. And it does portray his natural ability. But it is only the beginning of his case to be the long-term solution. There is still a long way to go.