Arsenal: Bernd Leno embodying new club mindset

Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno was the star of an otherwise pathetic showing against Wolverhampton, and he was rightfully not impressed.

Arsenal have now gone unbeaten in 16 straight matches, but they also have won in three straight matches. It started fine, with a fantastic draw against Liverpool that was one of the better games we’ve seen our Gunners play in some time.

That was followed up by a 0-0 draw against Sporting CP that has been pinned on a generally deflated mood following Danny Welbeck’s rather gruesome injury.

Against Wolverhampton, things were supposed to be different. Wolves had been struggling to take home points recently, and the Gunners had their full attack at their disposal, yet the club that hosted Wolves was nothing like the club that hosted Liverpool.

Three straight draws from three home games is not a positive takeaway, no matter how you spin it. Not for a club that wants to get back into the Champions League next season. They now find themselves three points behind fourth place Spurs with the international break coming.

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16 undefeated is certainly something to stave off the doubts, but Bernd Leno has a point when he says that it’s just a statistic. He pointed out how disappointed he and his teammates were to not get a win that they really should have achieved at home against a newly-promoted side.

And if anyone has a right to weigh in on the disappointment, it’s Bernd Leno, who is the only reason why this match didn’t get worse than it already was. Not only did Leno keep the deficit at one for an agonizing hour-plus of pathetic gameplay, but once the game had been leveled, he was called on again to ensure that it remained a draw and not a 2-1 loss.

Leno has a point, that 16 match unbeaten run is nothing but a curtain to hide behind after a draw like that. Drawing 1-1 against Liverpool and drawing 1-1 against Wolverhampton are completely different situations, and not just because of the opponent, but because of the level of play of the hosts, which was so below par that a loss would have been perfectly justified in the latter.

It’s nice to say we haven’t lost in 16 matches, but Leno is right, that doesn’t matter in the long run. This was a match that should have been handily won, yet the worst of the club came out just as we had seen the best only a week prior. Time to get back on track during the international break.