Arsenal: You never have to justify using more Bernd Leno

Mikel Arteta spoke up about why Bernd Leno has been chosen to be the Arsenal keeper in Europe, but that’s never a decision that needs justification.

Arsenal‘s keeper situation seemed pretty defined—Bernd Leno would play in the Premier League, Emiliano Martinez would play midweek. But starting in both legs against Olympiakos, we saw the German keeper between the posts, with Emi Martinez relegated to the FA Cup.

There are a few takeaways you can make from this, but the big overlying point is that you never have to justify using Bernd Leno more. He’s an incredible keeper, woefully underrated, and his safe hands have saved us in countless scenarios.

So while the clarity might be nice for someone like Emi Martinez, it’s really not necessary on the whole. We all trust Leno. Stick with him whenever you please. Keepers don’t get tired legs.

Arteta had this to say about the decision:

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"I have been really pleased with his (Leno’s) performances and I have been really pleased with the person that I am getting to know, how professional he is as well. The club was playing four competitions, one of the goalkeepers was playing three and Bernd was playing one. I wanted a little bit more balance at the moment and that’s it."

If nothing else, choosing Leno over Martinez shows us A. how seriously Arteta is taking not just the Europa League, but everything and B. how ruthless Arteta can be.

No doubt Martinez wasn’t too pleased about the decision, but Arteta isn’t here to make friends (even though it sounds like he’s doing just that with Bernd Leno… inadvertently). Arteta is here to win things and that starts with getting us back into the Champions League. If Martinez is a perceived downgrade on Leno, which he unfortunately is, then don’t run the risk.

It certainly paid dividends in that first leg especially, with Leno being called into action to make a handful of really important interventions. Maybe Martinez could have made them too, and maybe he’s earned the right to prove it, I don’t know. I just know that any time Leno is back there, I feel safer.

This probably has implications regarding the long-term future of Martinez, but as long as we have Leno, a No. 2 keeper isn’t that big of a concern. Play him in every single match for all I care. We’d be the better off because of it.