Bernd Leno says he has yet to begin contract talks with Arsenal, and that he is "open to everything" when it comes to his future.
The German keeper has just over two years left on his current deal in north London, having signed from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018.
Discussions over extending his stay have yet to begin and while he admits he is happy with the Gunners, the German keeper is in no rush to decide his next move and admitted he could be open to a "new adventure" at some point.
What has been said?
Speaking about his future, Leno confirmed talks over extending his contract - which runs until 2023 - have yet to begin.
“Not yet and at the moment it's not the time to speak about the future,” he said. “I know that I still have two years left on my contract and I'm also 29. For a goalkeeper, that's not too old. I've still got some years to go.
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“I’m very happy at the club. I don't know what will come in the future, but I'm open to everything. Maybe for a new adventure or to stay at Arsenal. Like I said, I don't think about my future because two years is a long time. At the moment there are no conversations with the club or anything else.”
A difficult season
Having missed the end of the 2019-20 campaign through injury, Leno fought off competition from Emiliano Martinez to be Mikel Arteta’s No1 this season.
“It's never easy when you change the defence all the time,” he said. “I don't think this is an excuse. We have so many games that we have to rotate. We had some injuries so it's normal.
”When you see the other teams, they also change their defensive line. It's not an excuse to say that and it's too easy to say it's because we change the defence, the full backs or something else.
“It's not only the defence or the relationship between the defence and goalkeeper. It's the whole team who defends the goal. Like I said, it's too easy to say we've changed the defence too often.”
Arteta’s backing
Given Martinez’s impressive form at the end of the last season, the Argentine could easily have been installed as Arsenal’s No 1 in the summer, but Arteta opted to stick with the fit again Leno and allowed Martinez to join Aston Villa, a decision Leno says gave him a big boost.
“It gave me confidence,” he said. “It was not a big decision because the manager and also the club said all the time that they count on me, that I am the No 1 and will be the No 1.
“Even if they expected it would have been a bigger injury, they told me to be calm and that they build around me so not to worry. That's always a good sign from the club, that they can rely on you. It gave me a lot of confidence and I'm very thankful to the club that they helped me a lot.”
Further reading
- Arteta explains how Arsenal convinced Balogun to sign new contract at Emirates Stadium
- Aguero to Arsenal rumours leave former Gunners defender Winterburn with 'big worry' over Man City striker
- 'Lingard disrespected the Emirates in a way that's never been seen' - Ferdinand sees no truth in Arsenal links
