Bernd Leno joins Fulham

[Callum]

In the spirit of ending this point scoring bs, Leno is still a good goalkeeper. I do think Martinez has had the better season and looked like he gave the defence more confidence when he played here but Leno has not been a major problem.

He had a few poor parries earlier in the season but since November I can't recall a huge mistake. Martinez has had a few blunders which, if he had been here, he would've been ripped apart for. It's a shame we didn't get to see them both fight it out for a full season but, if that money did help us get Partey (who really knows), then I think the loss of Martinez was just about worth it. Need to see more from Thomas the tank to be sure but he looks much more composed than all our midfielders.

Yeah, I think we're splitting hairs over who's the better goalkeeper. Martinez was very impressive in his run here but it was a very small sample size—we've seen errors from him this season that will happen when you see a goalkeeper play over an extended period. I can see why people would preferred Martinez but he was happy to go, he's homegrown, and was on a low salary, so he was always going to be the more attractive to bidders.

Agreed. Furthermore, we were never going to receive any similar bids for Leno who was injured for majority of the summer transfer window.

I also didn't see where he would go, realistically. None of the major European clubs seemed to be in need of a goalkeeper and his wages never made him a legitimate option for other Premier League clubs.

[Marsbar100]

I prefer emi but leno is a decent keeper

[KG3]

In the spirit of ending this point scoring bs, Leno is still a good goalkeeper. I do think Martinez has had the better season and looked like he gave the defence more confidence when he played here but Leno has not been a major problem.

He had a few poor parries earlier in the season but since November I can't recall a huge mistake. Martinez has had a few blunders which, if he had been here, he would've been ripped apart for. It's a shame we didn't get to see them both fight it out for a full season but, if that money did help us get Partey (who really knows), then I think the loss of Martinez was just about worth it. Need to see more from Thomas the tank to be sure but he looks much more composed than all our midfielders.

Yeah, I think we're splitting hairs over who's the better goalkeeper. Martinez was very impressive in his run here but it was a very small sample size—we've seen errors from him this season that will happen when you see a goalkeeper play over an extended period. I can see why people would preferred Martinez but he was happy to go, he's homegrown, and was on a low salary, so he was always going to be the more attractive to bidders.

Agreed. Furthermore, we were never going to receive any similar bids for Leno who was injured for majority of the summer transfer window.

I also didn't see where he would go, realistically. None of the major European clubs seemed to be in need of a goalkeeper and his wages never made him a legitimate option for other Premier League clubs.

Chelsea should have signed him but Lampard and Cech are idiots, they’d be comfortably in top 4 now with Emi and maybe Lampard would still have his job for now.

[theHotHead]

Martinez currently has 13 clean sheets the most in the BPL and nearly double the amount Leno has with 7, we sold a world class goalkeeper and kept a clown in goal who occasionally has good games Almunia 2.0 really

Not even close is it, I watched the game vs leeds yesterday and just wished we had him in our net. Both have made mistakes this season but overall Martinez has been far better.

Yeah I agree, I am not inspired with confidence at all with Leno, I was with Martinez. Martinez is a calming influence, vital as a top keeper.

[jayramfootball]

Martinez currently has 13 clean sheets the most in the BPL and nearly double the amount Leno has with 7, we sold a world class goalkeeper and kept a clown in goal who occasionally has good games Almunia 2.0 really

Not even close is it, I watched the game vs leeds yesterday and just wished we had him in our net. Both have made mistakes this season but overall Martinez has been far better.

Yeah I agree, I am not inspired with confidence at all with Leno, I was with Martinez. Martinez is a calming influence, vital as a top keeper.

Agree - absolutely crazy to let Martinez go. At the very least he would have put pressure on Leno and forced him to be at his best and sharpest for every minute. As it stands Leno has no competition. Given the number of really bad mistakes Leno has made this season, he'd have probably already have lost his place if Emi was still here.
Leno's problem, aside from errors of judgement, is that he seems to want to punch the ball instead of catching it and, whilst he is a good shot-stopper, his tendency to parry the ball out into danger is a real problem.

[Zenith]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

[Power n Glory]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

Good summary. I don't see Leno as an issue and not sure why he always has a target on his back.

Would have been great to have Martinez as well for back up or for Leno to have to fight for his place but as you've summarised, it would have resulted in less transfer funds and puts us back in a position where the squad is bloated and overpaid.

[jayramfootball]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

As it turned out with Partey's injuries, we'd have been better off keeping Martinez and waiting till this summer to strengthen the midfield, raising some funds by selling Leno. Pretty sure we'd be no worse than mid table.

[KG3]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

Partey was possible with the sale of Maitland-Niles who’s transfer we blocked in the summer, so technically yeah we could have kept both goalkeepers and let them fight it out, eventually selling one this summer

[Zenith]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

Partey was possible with the sale of Maitland-Niles who’s transfer we blocked in the summer, so technically yeah we could have kept both goalkeepers and let them fight it out, eventually selling one this summer

Niles would not have yielded the £20m we needed, which is why he we rejected Wolves' bid.

Not selling him only but to subsequently freeze him out was a terrible judgemental error, though.

[KG3]

Context:

Arsenal desperately need to strengthen their midfield;
To strengthen their midfield they need to raise funds in order to stay in line with FFP regulations;
Many players out of form or on inflated salaries, making sales of these players difficult;
Leno picks up an injury;
In Leno's absence, Martínez reaches the form of his life;
Martínez indicates he wants to become first-choice goalkeeper (preferably at Arsenal but, if not, elsewhere);
A substantial bid comes in for Martínez;
Leno is still injured, thus no incoming bids for him;
Arsenal still need to raise funds in order to strengthen their midfield;
Leno returns from injury;
Martínez is sold;
At last funds are available and, with additional financial aid from KSE, Partey's transfer is sanctioned.

Two options:

Option 1: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny
Option 2: Leno, Martínez, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny

Can't have your Partey-cake at eat it too, gents.

Partey was possible with the sale of Maitland-Niles who’s transfer we blocked in the summer, so technically yeah we could have kept both goalkeepers and let them fight it out, eventually selling one this summer

Niles would not have yielded the £20m we needed, which is why he we rejected Wolves' bid.

Not selling him only but to subsequently freeze him out was a terrible judgemental error, though.

Emi was 17 according to sky so not much difference, I’m sure Wolves or one of the other teams interested in Niles would have paid that at the time, letting Sokratis go for free in the summer instead of blocking that PSG move would also make up the extra money saved in wages.

Anyways as for Niles as things stand due to the idiots that run this club, we are set to make another loss on a player, Niles contract is up in 2023, taking that into account and the way Arteta treats him theirs no way he signs a new one, leaving us in a poor bargaining position, by the time we sell him we’ll be lucky to get half that.

[Power n Glory]

Emi may have reached his maximum market value whilst Niles could probably go for a much higher fee if he was actually used as a first team starter. We've wasted him and tanked his value. Unbelievable considering he was on the verge of breaking into the England International team. His value could have sky rocketed.

[Zenith]

[VCC]

Leno is a work in progress, good keeper as it stands but with huge potential if he can fill in his gaps that realistically anyone can see,

[dc16]

Just been watching this. He is a lot more vocal than I thought he was.

Good stuff.

Watford’s GK Ben Foster has a YouTube channel where he puts a GoPro in the corner of his goal and combines it with behind the scenes pre match footage.