Matt Turner has said his first season at Arsenal made him a better goalkeeper and a better person, but the U.S. national team starter admitted he would have liked to see more time on the field.
Turner joined the Gunners last summer from the New England Revolution, becoming the backup to Aaron Ramsdale in north London.
With Ramsdale entrenched as the Gunners’ starter, Turner made only seven appearances in his first season as an Arsenal player and did not appear in any Premier League matches.
At the international level, Turner overtook Zack Steffen as the USMNT’s No. 1, starting all four of his country’s matches at the World Cup. Speaking to the media ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Mexico next week, Turner broke down the highs and lows of his first season abroad.
“It’s changed me, made me a better goalkeeper, a better person, a better player,” Turner said. “Besides the on-field stuff, off the field moving to a new country, experiencing new cultures and new styles of play, a new manager with different expectations, playing with pressure and all that kind of stuff led me into the World Cup and having a great World Cup.
“This season was amazing at Arsenal. I learned so much and we won games, but I would have liked to play a little bit more. On the personal side I didn’t hit as many goals as I would have really liked to.”
Turner’s underdog journey has been well documented. He wasn’t a full-time starter in college until his junior year, went undrafted in MLS and worked his way into a starting role in New England and eventually the USMNT.
The 28-year-old said he’s been hearing about his lack of experience throughout his career, and he’s hoping to get more playing time at Arsenal and the USMNT so he can continue to prove his doubters wrong.
“There’s always been this blanket of lack of experience that people talk about since I was in college, then my first couple years as a pro in MLS and the beginning of my career with the national team and now with Arsenal,” he said.
“[I’m] just trying to get more and more experience. Every time I can step on the pitch, I want to give my best performance so I can continue to grow and show that I do have experience and I have learned and I have grown and I have gotten better.”
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