Bernd Leno admits he was "bitter" after being shoved aside at Arsenal by Mikel Arteta

Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has admitted that he was left feeling "bitter" after being dropped by Mikel Arteta but remains determined to reclaim his place.

The 30-year-old started his fourth season at the Emirates as No.1 but after the Gunners lost their first three Premier League games and conceded nine goals, Arteta handed the gloves to Aaron Ramsdale, newly-signed from Sheffield United for £24million. Leno has been restricted to just five appearances since an in-form Ramsdale usurped him and has opened up watching from the bench whilst Arsenal have soared to Champions League contention.

"It was a setback and a bitter moment," the Germany international told Spox, via Goal. "But that's sport, you have to accept that. It wasn't easy, but I couldn't feel sorry for myself, I wanted to attack again immediately. I don't want to say I was a pawn, but when the results aren't right, sometimes things happen quickly in football.

"The coach wanted to set a new impulse - and then the [improved] results came. That was bitter for me, because I had held up well before that. I had never experienced anything like that in my career before. But I looked ahead. My ambition is to always play, I know what I can do. I'm not 20 anymore, where I could say: 'I still have time'."

While Leno has come to accept the decision, he initially felt frustrated with Arteta. "In the end, he said that the results weren't right and that he wanted to bring in new players. And when the results are good, it is of course logical that you don't change so much in a well-established team," the former Bayer Leverkusen star explained.

"It was clearly communicated to me that it had nothing to do with my performance and was therefore difficult to accept at