CANDLES BERND Leno's girlfriend surprises him with Arsenal cake to celebrate his birthday
GERMAN goalkeeper Bernd Leno has been surprised with an Arsenal shirt cake for his 27th birthday by his stunning girlfriend Sophie Christin.
The former Bayer Leverkusen ace pulled off an exquisite double save in the North London derby to reaffirm Unai Emery's decision to install him as the club's No 1 choice.
Though Saturday's fixture ended in disappointment for the 2017 Confederations Cup winner after he was unable to keep out Harry Kane's penalty, leaving the Gunners to settle for a draw.
Leno has impressed in his opening season in England after moving from the Bundesliga last summer - where he has featured in 23 out of 29 Premier League games.
Though despite his impressive shot-stopping abilities, he has kept just four clean sheets in the top-flight - conceding 30 goals.
But the six-cap German international has revealed he is loving life at the Emirates , and is determined to seal his first year with a place in the Champions League.
Speaking to Arsenal's website , he said: "Before I made my decision I talked to Musti and Mesut about it a lot. They both said that Arsenal is a big club and that I would love it here.
"I talked with my brother, my parents and my girlfriend, and they were all very excited for me. It was clear that I had to sign for Arsenal.
"Things have started well here and everyone’s been very welcoming. I think we had a great pre-season and I’ve really enjoyed working with Petr.
"He’s a big personality with a lot of experience and he’s also a very good guy.
"It’s very good here, the way we work. The coaches do a good job and the staff are very nice. The team was very welcoming from the beginning, so I like it here.
"I want to play, I want to be the No 1 for the coach and I just want to improve for myself.
"At the end of the season, we want to get back into the Champions League of course, and then hopefully win a trophy in the process."
Leno is likely to find himself on the bench on Thursday when the Gunners face Rennes away in the Europa League last-16 first leg.