Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has praised the performance of Bernd Leno after the 1-0 win against Olympiakos last night.

The Gunners were put under pressure at times in Greece yesterday evening but the German justified Mikel Arteta’s decision to pick him ahead of Emi Martinez with two crucial saves from Mathieu Valbuena and Ousseynou Ba. Keown thinks the 27-year-old has been a very good replacement for Petr Cech:

“He’s well used to the action he was having to come up against tonight. Leno has been quite a success story, Petr Cech they’re big boots to fill, and I think he’s done that successfully. It was his first game in the Europa League, he’s coming out to make a point here. He’s (Arteta) now seen fit to put the number one goalkeeper in and I can see why tonight. He put a really good display in.”

Leno has rarely put a foot wrong since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for £19m in 2018. The German’s shot-stopping ability has saved Arsenal on more than one occasion over the past eighteen months. Although the Gunners’ defence has rarely been rock solid, he is someone that has been relied upon, starting all 26 league games this campaign, conceding 34 goals and keeping six clean sheets.

He was also crucial to keeping a clean sheet last night which should hold them in good stead heading into the second leg at the Emirates in a weeks time.