"Really surprised" - Mikel Arteta responds to ex-Arsenal star's claims that he left the club due to 'politics'

Mikel Arteta has expressed his surprise over Bernd Leno's claims that he was forced out of Arsenal due to 'politics.'

The German goalkeeper left the Emirates Stadium over the summer to join Fulham after losing his number one spot to Aaron Ramsdale. Leno made 125 appearances for the Gunners after moving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018 but spent much of last season as a substitute.

Speaking on his recent exit, Leno recently told BILD (as per The Mail):

"When I realised that it wasn't about performance or quality, I knew that I had to go. In preparation, I saw that it is not about performance, but only about politics. It was clear to me: I had to get out of here."

Arteta was quizzed on the shot-stopper's comments during his pre-match press conference ahead of their Europa League clash with FC Zurich. The Spaniard admitted he was surprised by the comments, as he stated (per The Mail):

"I'm really surprised, and I don't know if he's talking about the politics when he was starting every match, or the politics when he wasn't playing. I'm really surprised about it."

Leno switched to London rivals Fulham following Arsenal's decision to bring in USA international Matt Turner as a backup goalkeeper for Aaron Ramsdale.

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Aaron Ramsdale keen to win trophy with Arsenal this season

The 24-year-old goalkeeper has established himself as Arsenal's first-choice shot stopper following an impressive debut season at the Emirates Stadium

Ramsdale will also have dreams of playing for England in the FIFA World Cup later this year, especially following Jordan Pickford's injury.

The Gunners have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and speaking of their side's goals this season, Ramsdale stated (as per The Metro):

"The dressing-room targets have been sort of left alone. The cliche is 'one game at a time' but it’s a new experience for a lot of us playing in Europe and personally I think that can be a priority for us, to go and win the Europa League."

He added:

"I don’t see why (we can’t), a trophy is a trophy: it’s European football. We came close to the top four last year. That should be a given and a trophy along the way."

Ramsdale replaced Leno at the start of last season, but has been criticized for a couple of shaky moments this term, particularly for his display against Manchester United in their previous encounter.