Arsenal: One crucial element left for Bernd Leno to conquer

Bernd Leno has played excellently in recent contests against Spurs and Manchester United. To become a great goalkeeper, there is now just one more element that the Arsenal star must conquer: kicking.

All stats are according to whoscored.com

Bernd Leno was signed in the summer to be Arsenal’s long-term starting goalkeeper. The move was not necessarily made because of the player that he has been; his acquisition was because of the player that he is hoped and expected to become.

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Leno broke into senior football at just 19 years of age. He has been a regular starter every season since, all for Bayer Leverkusen before his move to the Emirates. Initially, he made mental errors and conceded some rather loose goals. But his talent was undeniable, and the belief was that, with age and experience, he would iron out his mistakes.

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The reason why Arsenal were able to sign him so cheaply is that he never really rid of the mistakes that crippled of his efficacy. The ability was still there, but the production never quite matched, and, as a result, he was seen as a competent but not elite goalkeeper. Alisson Becker and Kepa Arrizabalaga moved in the same window as Leno to Premier League clubs for triple the price. The risk, then, was the Gunners believing that they could improve Leno.

So far this season, that risk has paid off. The mistakes have become less frequent and glaring, his shot-stopping has markedly improved, making a string of excellent saves against Spurs and Manchester United in recent weeks, and he has grown more comfortable with the defenders in front of him and with the added physicality of Premier League football. All in all, Leno is a better goalkeeper now than he was when he arrived in north London. There is now just one more crucial element to his game that he must conquer: kicking.

Oddly enough, his distribution and comfort with the ball at his feet was a reason for Arsenal for preferring him to former starter Petr Cech, who struggled to acclimate himself with Unai Emery’s build-out-from-the-back approach. And while Leno’s work with his feet is more productive than Cech’s, there is still room for improvement.

Specifically, it is his long passing that is very poor. In the Premier League, Leno has made 9.4 inaccurate long passes per 90 minutes. That contrasts to just 5.7 accurate long passes per 90 minute. Alisson, Kepa and Ederson, in contrast, play just 5.7, 4.0 and 3.4 inaccurate long passes per 90 minutes respectively.

Leno’s ratio of accurate to inaccurate long passes is 0.601. Alisson comes in at 0.701, Ederson is at 0.825, and Kepa’s ratio is 1.529. All are substantially better than Leno’s figure. And even for goalkeepers who struggle a little more with their passing, Leno’s statistics do not fare well. David de Gea and Hugo Lloris both have better ratios of accurate to inaccurate long passes. In fact, Leno’s figure is far more comparable to that of Petr Cech, not the other elite goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Leno has been excellent this season. And he has continued to improve throughout the season. But there is one thing left for him to master: long passing. With it, along with some consistency and longevity, he could turn into one of the best goalkeepers in the league.