Arsenal fans were excited by the signing of Bernd Leno during the summer - and for good reason.

Hailed as one of the most promising goalkeepers of his generation, the £22 million goalkeeper arrived at the Emirates from Bayer Leverkusen after missing just five Bundesliga matches since 2011.

Leno also has six senior caps for Germany under his belt despite contending with Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp for one of the most hotly contested positions in international football.

Given his reputation and price tag, many expected the 26-year-old to supplant Petr Cech as the first-choice between the sticks at Arsenal.

However, his first three months at the club have seen Unai Emery opt for the four-time Premier League instead.

Cech hasn’t kept a single clean sheet in the opening four matches of the Premier League season, so one wonders when the Gunners boss might see fit to shake up his defence.

Arsenal legend David Seaman believes the situation is more complex than meets the eye, though, and Leno could find himself playing second fiddle for a while yet.

"Just because he [Leno] cost a lot of money does not mean he goes straight into the team. He has to be patient," he explained, per the Mirror.

"Petr Cech has done nothing wrong in goal. Okay, so he is adjusting to playing with the ball from the box.

"But he has been able to contribute to the team and has done nothing to cause him to be left out.”

Seaman added: "This could be a learning curve for him.

"You have to be patient in football, I know. I had to be in the past when I was playing. Leno has to bide his time.”

Another club icon in Martin Keown has also weighed in on the goalkeeping situation at the Emirates, claiming the young German is yet to prove himself despite his obvious talent.

"If you look at the statistics for goalkeepers in Europe, Leno excels in his distribution but is not the best when it comes to the shots he is expected to stop,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.

"The German was not in their World Cup squad and hasn't been called up for this international break. How good is he? We're not too sure yet.”

It’s difficult to fault Seaman and Keown’s respective opinions, but it will be intriguing to see how Leno fares when he does eventually get his chance.