As with most transfer deals, it gets to the point where it’s all about the small print and personal terms, nothing is guaranteed until the signature but it appears that Arsenal are close to acquiring Bayer Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno for a fee of around £25 million, according to reports in the Sun.
The report states that the 26-year-old keeper is interested in moving to the North London club and Arsenal are expected to announce the deal on June 1st.
If this is the case, Sven Mislintat has begun to build a solid foundation and address the ongoing issues of Arsenal’s Achilles heel. The Gunners made more defensive errors this season than any team in Europe’s top five leagues.
Cech has been directly responsible for numerous goals due to indecision and errors of judgment and his normally safe hands have proved to be anything but. There has been no doubt in the minds of Arsenal fans that replacing Petr Cech has become a priority.
The current Arsenal number-one has endured possibly his worst season of his Premier League career. One that has portrayed him as unreliable, inconsistent and unsure during key parts of the Gunners season. You could be forgiven for thinking that he had become a second-rate goalkeeper overnight, but he has been hindered by a truly atrocious defence.
He made it look easy during his spell at Chelsea because the midfield had a bite and the defence could actually defend and afford him protection. It’s just a guess, but if you placed Cech in another team which could perform as a defensive unit such as Atletico Madrid, he may look considerably better, even World class again.
Cech’s fall from grace has happened at a time when Arsenal have insufficient quality in the position. Matt Macey is extremely promising but is one for the future, whereas Ospina is simply not good enough and never was.
Ospina seems to fare worse against taller, physically strong strikers and can be intimidated when placed under pressure. A section of fans have called for him to be promoted to the number slot but there are many, many doubts about his capabilities after a series of inept and twitchy performances between the sticks.
Mislintat had two targets in mind Jan Oblak of Atletico and Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno, but it now appears that Leno has been persuaded to consider the move. The young, agile German may seek assurances that money will be spent on Arsenal’s brittle and broken defence.
It has been said that only £50 million will be made available for transfers but most people I speak to think this is entirely unrealistic and certainly unlikely. If you were to put a hundred million in front of the figure, it may be more appropriate for the challenge of building a competitive team.
Leno would represent a huge step forward and introduce a brave, young and ambitious keeper to take Arsenal forward and eventually replace Cech. Despite Hector Bellerin’s declaration that he will remain at the Emirates next season, he may be used to generate a war chest, along with the sales of Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, who between them, will bring in at least £100 million between them.
The rebuild is going to be enormous but be warned, it may take three or four seasons before Arsenal are even remotely in a position to challenge the likes of Manchester City, let alone Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
