Sunday 30 September 2018 22:56, UK
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno is planning to seize his chance to impress after Petr Cech suffered an injury.
Cech could be out for up to three weeks after limping out of Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Watford on the stroke of half-time, having pulled up in pain following a goal-kick.
Leno, a summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, replaced the Gunners captain to make his league debut and produced a couple of smart saves to ensure Arsenal took all three points.
Asked after the game if he was excited about the chance to prove his worth, he said: "Yes, of course.
"Now Petr is injured - I don't know how long for - I have the opportunity to play more games and show the coach my quality.
"It is a big chance for me.
"I don't want to say it wrong that I am happy for Petr to be injured. I think always it is a bad feeling, so I feel sorry for him.
"But, now I have more opportunities to play and I will concentrate on the games."
It was seen as a surprise by some that Leno did not become number one at Arsenal straight away - but the 26-year-old admits that being eased in may prove beneficial.
"I wanted to play all games, the first games against (Manchester) City, Chelsea and West Ham," he added.
"It's difficult to sit on the bench but the coach (Unai Emery) said to me 'don't be disappointed or sad, just train hard'.
"He has worked with many goalkeepers and the goalkeeper is a very special position. It needs a little bit more time for your personality and confidence and feeling with the defence.
"I was calm and worked very hard every day. I'm happy that the coach gave me some games in the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
"He said to me, 'it's good to get a feeling for the team and also for the football, because it is different and needs a little bit of time'. The coach gave me the time.
"I didn't play so many games, so the two games in the Europa League and Carabao Cup were very important for me to get the confidence with the defence, get a feeling with the team, and also for the players to play from the back.
"So, it was good for me that I already played those two games in the cups."
Leno is next set to play in Arsenal's Europa League tie away to Qarabag on Thursday, although Emery may be tempted to save him for the game at Fulham on Sunday and select Emiliano Martinez in Azerbaijan instead.
