Arsenal: Bernd Leno exit another twig on the dumpster fire

Arsenal have enough going wrong as is, but the idea of losing Bernd Leno is equal parts horrifying and wholly dreadful. Shoo this rumor away!

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of stuff not exactly going perfectly at Arsenal. There’s a lot of moving pieces, and by moving I mean tripping and falling, and even the calls for unity and support are being met with hatred and vitriol. Now, we have to deal with exit rumors as well.

Bernd Leno has only been at the club for a year and a half and already Bayern Munich are sniffing around after him, lining him up as Manuel Neuer‘s replacement, which he was already supposed to be for the German national team.

For starters, I want to rub everyone’s nose in it who thought that Leno wasn’t good enough just because the defense around him sucked. Bayern don’t waste their time, and Leno is clearly worthy of that time.

Moving on from my own spiteful vindication, it must also be said that if Leno leaves, we are in a serious predicament. Nothing against Emi Martinez, he may very well be ready, but the confidence that Leno instills in that backline is one of the few things that have been reliable all year.

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Martinez has no track record to prove that he can do the same.

And I doubt that those in charge would opt to let Martinez take over the role on his own anyway, he’d want to sign someone new. Which is the problem. Signing new players right now is a complete disaster area, especially with Champions League play so far off, and we may be confined to a keeper that isn’t as elite as Leno, playing behind a defense that we can only hope gets more elite as the time comes.

Obviously, the better option is to keep an elite keeper and grow the defense around him. Not have to grow the defense, and a new keeper, with nothing stabilizing that back line except David Luiz.

It may not be a pressing matter on many people’s minds, as this is an idle rumor right now and nothing more, but do not downplay the significance of Bernd Leno and how important it is to keep hold of him.

This is one of those “you don’t think about it until he’s gone” kinds of problems, and aren’t those always the worst?