First the howling errors, then the injury, and now he finds himself the number two at Arsenal. This season has not started well for Jens Lehmann. At least he can rely on being the first choice keeper for the German national team. Or can he?
For the first time both trainer Joachim Löw and manager Oliver Bierhoff have come out and put a little pressure on the 37 year old keeper. More than pressure, they have in fact issued an ultimatum.
“We will wait until after the matches in October and November and see what happens” explained Löw. “Of course we want our players to have as much game time with their clubs sides as possible. If the situation with Jens at Arsenal doesn’t improve, then we will have talks in December.”
Should Lehmann still be the number two at the London side behind Manuel Almunia, then his status as Germany’s number one for the Euro 2008 championships would be in danger.
Team manager Oliver Bierhoff shares this view. “Certain things will be clearer in the winter. In view of the European Championships, it’s important to have a goalkeeper who is playing regularly.
“If that were the case then I would advise Jens to look for a new club, so that he plays more regularly” Bierhoff told Kicker.
He however made it clear that he was astonished as to why Lehmann was not the number one choice at the Emirates Stadium under Arsene Wenger.
“It surprises me that, in view of the performances he has shown in the past few seasons, he has been replaced. “It is a difficult situation, especially for a goalkeeper” Bierhoff reported.
“After the World Cup it was clear to me that we could make the next step to the European Championships with Jens in goal. But the fact is that he has been injured and not played for Arsenal for many weeks. We have to take that into consideration” Löw explained.
But Jogi Löw wouldn’t be Jogi Löw if he didn’t look optimistically to the future and he believes that Lehmann will return as Wenger’s number one at Arsenal.
“I sense it everyday in training that he is highly motivated and is pushing himself to the limit. Jens also believes he will regain his place in the Arsenal goal.”
Goal.com - Euro 2008 - Lehmann Given German Ultimatum