Arsenal: Bernd Leno can be a hero off the pitch too

Arsenal already won the lottery signing Bernd Len, but the lottery can keep improving if Leno can keep being a hero off the pitch this transfer season.

Arsenal have a lot of work to do this summer, and they don’t exactly know what kind of work it will be, but no matter how it turns up, it’ll be a lot. Mikel Arteta has already acknowledged three key needs of the club—centerback, holding midfield and attacker. It’s a bit broad, but given what we do know, Bernd Leno can be a big help.

Granted, Bernd Leno is already a big help. He is the shoo-in for player of the season this year and has been the one consistent piece of this team for the past couple of years. He’s only getting better.

But off the pitch, while he can’t save the team on a regular basis, he can do more than just play FIFA, and yes, I’m being completely selfish.

Hopefully, it’s no coincidence that some of the players we’re being linked to happen to come from Bernd Leno’s former home at Bayer Leverkusen.

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Aside from Leon Bailey, who I’m generally not that interested in, the Gunners have links to two Leverkusen players that oh-so-conveniently fit two of the three needs Mikel Arteta has already highlighted.

We’ve got Jonathan Tah, the centerback on top of our best possible centerback transfers list. And we’ve got Kai Havertz, who would be the biggest signing in Arsenal history as well as the perfect upgrade from Mesut Ozil for the long-haul.

Maybe I put too much credence in former teammates, but you don’t play years with someone and not build up some kind of rapport. Leno spent a lot of time with Tah and a decent amount of time with Havertz as well. Leno has also been a huge proponent of what Arteta is doing at the Emirates.

If ever there would be a beneficial time to call former teammates and tell them how great the Arteta project is at the Emirates, this is it. Neither Havertz nor Tah are heavily linked to the Emirates, but they should be. They are both game-changing signings that could spell the future of the club in the best way possible.

Also, can we talk about the captaincy? No, that’s for another day. But whatever he does or doesn’t do off the pitch, Bernd Leno is a verifiable hero at the Emirates.