Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BERNING AMBITION
Leno calls on Gunners to fight for European survival.. but not like Lloris and Son!
BERND LENO has called on Arsenal to summon all their fighting spirit to save the Gunners’ season and spare them a humiliating Brexit.
After 20 years of writing blank cheques under Arsene Wenger in the Champions League, Arsenal will probably need to turn Slavia Prague’s underdogs into blank Czechs to stay in Europe.
And if they are knocked out of the Europa League by dark horses, who have already disposed of Leicester and Rangers, the Gunners will not get past Dover next season – for the first time since 1995-96, when Bruce Rioch was in charge.
Goalkeeper Leno contemplated a football landscape without excursions to the continental mainland and insisted: “Arsenal belongs to Europe.”
But are they too big not to be in Europe?
Don’t bank on it – Leno’s shut-out in the 3-0 win at doomed Sheffield United on Sunday was the Gunners’ first clean sheet in 15 games.
The German No.1 said: “When you think about the future without Arsenal in a European competition, it doesn’t feel right. Our job is to make sure that doesn’t come true. That’s our target and our job.”
Tomas Holes’ last-minute equaliser in the first leg at the Emirates left the tie in the balance at 1-1, but Slavia’s crucial away goal means Arsenal have to score at least once in the return.
Mikel Arteta’s side fell in the last 32 of the competition last season and, after 16 months in charge, this tie has the feel of a defining moment in his reign.
Asked if the players had let their manager down in a desperately disappointing season, Leno said:
“No, I don’t think so – because we are in it all together.
“It is not just about the manager or the team. Mikel does a great job and the team is fighting for him and for ourselves, the club and the fans.
“We also want the best for ourselves. You can see all the time that the team is fighting.”
But Leno will not take a leaf out of neighbours Tottenham’s blueprint for fighting spirit, which was highlighted in the Amazon Prime documentary All Or Nothing, in an incident where keeper Hugo Lloris chased out of his area to remonstrate with team-mate Heung-min Son
(right).
He said: “I saw the situation going on with Son and Lloris. Of course we have made some mistakes, but I think in some situations we have to have a feeling how to behave in front of your team-mates, because as a player you know when you have made a mistake.
“I don’t see the point of going to my team-mate to blame him – you have to build confidence again, to speak positively to him.
“We don’t have that type of team that we destroy ourselves. We have to be positive, to show positive body language. This is also my mindset, to be positive, to have a positive attitude and to create a positive atmosphere on the pitch.
“So I could not see any situations where we have to fight in the game. Every situation is different, but most of the time I don’t see the point in creating a fight on the pitch, or even in the dressing room.”