There was no clear reason – Arsenal goalkeeper Leno unsure why he lost place to Ramsdale

Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno says there “is no clear reason” why he was dropped by Mikel Arteta in favour of Aaron Ramsdale.

Germany international Leno started Arsenal’s opening three Premier League games of the campaign, conceding nine goals in defeats to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Ramsdale, who was signed from Sheffield United last month for a fee that could reportedly rise to £30million, was brought into the side following the 5-0 loss against City.

The 23-year-old kept clean sheets in his first two games against Norwich City and Burnley before shipping one late on in Sunday’s 3-1 win against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham.

Not only does Ramsdale boast a better clean sheet record than Leno from the same number of league games this term, he also has a far higher save percentage (87.5 compared to 50).

That save percentage rises to 91.67 when taking all competitions into account, the second-best return of any keeper to have played at least three times for a team in Europe’s top five leagues, behind only Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (92.86).

Despite Ramsdale’s steady presence between the sticks, though, Leno feels Arteta’s decision to leave him out of the side was unjustified.

“There was no clear reason why I was out, but it had nothing to do with my performance,” he told Bild. “He is the trainer, he decides. Of course, it’s difficult for me.”

Leno is in his fourth season with Arsenal since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen but has been linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium next year.

Serie A champions Inter are reported to be keeping tabs on Leno’s situation and the 29-year-old may consider a move away should his playing time not improve.

“London is very nice; Milan is not bad either and closer to my home Stuttgart,” Leno said when asked about the rumoured interest from Inter.

“But I’m not seriously thinking about that yet. I feel comfortable at Arsenal and in London.

“Only if nothing changes in my situation by winter would I have to think about things: what option do I have, how can I continue? 

“But I’m concentrating on my work in training; I can’t commit to anything else at the moment.”