| Loew to decide if Lehmann stays Germany's No 1 |
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| Tuesday, 06 November 2007 | |
 BERLIN (AFP) - Germany's coach Joachim Loew admitted on Tuesday he will sit down with Arsenal's veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann later this year to discuss whether he goes to Euro 2008 next summer as first-choice shot-stopper.The 37-year-old made a string of errors for the Premier League side at the start of the season before achilles tendon and elbow injuries saw him lose his place at Arsenal to Spaniard Manuel Almunia. Things went from bad to worse late last month when Lehmann dropped to third choice at Arsenal as young Pole Lukasz Fabianski took his place on the bench and Lehmann was left out in the cold. The German responded by producing a world-class performance in October's Euro 2008 qualifier in the 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland and has remained Loew's first-choice 'keeper head of Valencia's Timo Hildebrand. But with Lehmann's route into the Arsenal side blocked by Almunia, Loew will meet with the player after the remaining Euro 2008 quaifiers against Cyprus and Wales this month. "We will sit down and look at the situation at the end of year," Loew told German tabloid Bild. "Jens is world-class goalkeeper and will keep his place if he maintains that level. "But no coach can give one of his players a guarantee he will be playing in a tournament which is eight months away." Lehmann reacted to his time out of Arsenal's first-team by launching an attack on Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger last month. "I think - and this is directed towards my dear coach - that you should not humiliate players for too long. I am an Arsenal player and I will not just fade away quietly," he said at the time. And having criticised his boss, he then turned his attentions to Almunia and Fabianski, saying they lacked the experience to win key games for the north London giants. |
