Matt Turner has now shared how he knew that it was time to leave Arsenal after the USA goalkeeper secured a transfer to Nottingham Forest during the summer window.
The Gunners only brought Turner to the Premier League in July 2022 in a £7.5m switch from MLS franchise, New England Revolution. Yet Mikel Arteta seldom relied on the shot-stopper to deputise for Aaron Ramsdale. So, he left Emirates Stadium after one season with the club.
Turner’s transfer saw Arsenal recoup £7m of the sum they paid with Nottingham Forest also agreeing to £3m in add-ons. The 29-year-old also agreed to sign a four-year contract to go to the City Ground. While he made his Reds debut at the Gunners as Arteta’s team won 2-1.
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Turner has settled in at Nottingham Forest since quitting Arsenal
Steve Cooper has now already given Turner five appearances since his transfer from Arsenal to Nottingham Forest. The 32-cap USA international has also kept one clean sheet after the Reds won 1-0 at Chelsea on Saturday. He had only played seven games in total under Arteta.
Ramsdale was Arteta’s absolute No1 between the sticks at Emirates Stadium last season. He favoured the England international in all 38 of the Gunners’ Premier League games. Instead, Turner had to accept Europa League and FA Cup ties for his only action as an Arsenal player.
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Arteta even dropped Turner as his Europa League goalkeeper in March after Arsenal drew at Sporting Lisbon. Yet Ramsdale would not prevent their exit to the Primeira Liga team in the last 16 second-leg. Karl Hein also started their Carabao Cup loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Why Turner ‘knew’ he had to leave Emirates Stadium after a year
Arteta forever favouring Ramsdale convinced Turner that he had to leave Arsenal after just a year with a summer transfer. The USMNT’s No1 and captain at this year’s Gold Cup feared a second year on the sidelines would be detrimental to his career as a Premier League player.
He said, via quotes by Goal: “I think towards the end of the season when I felt like there was games that I could have been playing that I wasn’t even getting really a sniff of them.
“I was training really well, doing, I felt like, everything in my power to get myself minutes in the team and that just wasn’t happening for me.
“I knew that if I waited another year, it probably would have been more challenging for me to make a lateral move within the Premier League. So, I knew that time was of the essence at that point.
“If I went another season without playing, I would have probably had to take a step back and once you’re out of it, it’s hard to get back into it, especially when you’re not English.”