Bernd Leno Adapting To Life In The Premier League

Germany international Bernd Leno completed a 22 million euros move from boyhood club Bayer Leverkusen to the Emirates Stadium last summer as newly-appointed manager Unai Emery looked to bolster the club’s goalkeeping ranks.

Leno became something of a cult hero at the BayArena spending seven seasons at the German club and managing as many as 230 Bundesliga appearances.

The 26 year old has also won six caps for the German national team, which is a phenomenal feat considering he usurped one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Manuel Neuer to the starting lineup in those six games.

Leno walked all the way into Emery’s starting lineup following his summer move, condemning former first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech to the substitute bench.

That said, the Arsenal goalkeeper has come clean to the English media about his struggles since making the move to the Premier League, revealing how difficult it has been adapting to English football.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, the Gunner said, “I am very happy here, surely. I needed some time to get used to new teammates, a new country, new league and new football. Football here in England is very different to that in Germany”.

Over the years, we have seen so many world-class players struggle to hit the ground running in the Premier League as it is known for its extreme physicality.

The likes of Angel di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Alvaro Morata found it very difficult to adapt to the physicality of English football and it wasn’t long before they sought for greener pastures in the French Ligue 1 and Spanish La Liga.

However, Leno insists he is now fully adapted to life in the Premier League and hopes to spend many successful years in North London.

“When I arrived, it was clear that it needed a little bit of time but now I am settled in the club and I feel at home here”, the goalkeeper quipped.

Arsenal will be looking to continue their push for a fourth-place finish when they welcome the Cherries to the Emirates Stadium tonight.

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