One of the great unknowns for Leeds United going into the 2020/21 season was the goalkeeper position.
Illan Meslier had earned his permanent move to Elland Road with some impressive displays during the promotion run. However, the prospect of starting the season with a 20-year-old with no Premier League experience as your first-choice was a risky one.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been linked with a loan move for Manchester United’s Dean Henderson , who has been unable to displace David de Gea at Old Trafford.
Henderson’s Premier League pedigree is clear, based on his performances for Sheffield United last season, and there’s something to be said for Leeds being able to call on a keeper playing for a place in England’s European Championships squad.
However, Meslier’s performance against Arsenal on Sunday saw him continue to make the case to be trusted in the immediate and longer-term.
Meslier’s two previous clean sheets had helped Leeds pick up important victories over Sheffield United and Aston Villa, with the Frenchman making important saves at key points in both games.
He was in fine form again against Arsenal, denying Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka on an afternoon where he had to stay alert amid long quiet spells, and more accurate finishing from his Leeds team-mates could easily have brought three points rather than just one.
“What I can say is he has huge character and personality,” Bielsa said after the victory over Sheffield United in September, and there was more praise for the youngster after Sunday’s display.
“Today, he had a very important intervention, but we evaluate a goalkeeper over a longer trajectory, not over a section of games,” Bielsa said.
“He's a player who is very strong mentally, who has character. To play in the Premier League always demands you to be strong mentally and you can't play at this level without personality and without character.”
Meslier recorded a pass completion percentage of 80% against Arsenal (all stats via StatsBomb/FBRef ), just shy of his season-long return of 83.6%, and Arsenal’s Bernd Leno is the only goalkeeper in the top-flight with a better percentage.
Henderson, meanwhile, posted a pass completion of just 41% last term for the Blades - the lowest total in the entire Premier League.
While the set-up in which he played had different requirements, and other aspects of Henderson’s game showed him to be of Premier League quality, it would potentially require a huge shift in how Bielsa’s team play their football.
When Henderson made his first Premier League appearance for Sheffield United last season, he did so as an unknown quantity for top-flight fans - if not for Chris Wilder’s side specifically.
He was given time to settle in, in part based on his performances on loan in the promotion campaign, and there is an argument that Meslier has earnt his opportunity in the same manner.
It should not be forgotten that Leeds already have a goalkeeper with top-fight experience on their books - Kiko Casilla played more than 100 games in La Liga during his time with Espanyol and Real Madrid - and Meslier has been successful in holding off the challenge of the Spaniard over the last few months.
While Leeds’ open approach was always likely to see them concede more than last season, as they have gone up against more clinical opposition forwards, Meslier’s place in this team goes beyond the goals against column.
He has demonstrated, both in his saves and his use of the ball, that there is a space for him in this side. While he is far from the finished product, there is no obvious benefit in stopping his progress by parachuting in a loanee who has no guarantee of sticking around for more than a few months.
