What will Matt Turner bring to Arsenal?

Arsenal officially announced the arrival of goalkeeper Matt Turner on Monday morning after the Gunners paid the New England Revolution £7m for his services back in January.

With Bernd Leno likely leaving the club this summer, the American is poised to serve as Aaron Ramsdale’s number two for the 2022/23 campaign.

So, who is Matt Turner and what will he bring to the club?

What will new goalkeeper Matt Turner bring to Arsenal?

Matt Turner is a 28-year-old American goalkeeper who has long plied his trade in MLS with the New England Revolution. He is currently in contention with Manchester City’s Zach Steffen for the number one role for the USMNT after breaking onto the international scene over the last year with his performances in MLS and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he won the tournament’s Golden Glove award.

Turner is closer to Leno in profile than Aaron Ramsdale. His number one attribute as a goalkeeper is his shot-stopping, in which he is very good. This isn’t to say that he isn’t good on the ball, though. He has shown to be more than calm, composed and capable with the ball at his feet and will be an upgrade over the more frantic German in that area.

His shot-stopping is tremendous and is his biggest strength to be brought to the team and will be especially useful in the cup matches he’s sure to feature in next season.

Speaking about Turner’s arrival, manager Mikel Arteta said: “Matt is an experienced goalkeeper who will bring high quality to our squad. He has shown with his performances in recent years in both the MLS and at international level with the United States that he is a goalkeeper who will give us added strength going into next season.”

Technical director Edu added: “Matt is a goalkeeper with established qualities and experience, who will be a great addition to our squad. We identified Matt some time ago and worked hard to ensure that his transfer was complete so he could join us in time for our pre-season in July.”

I’m beyond excited to see an American come to Arsenal. it’s always cool to see someone from your country represent the team (I own a Gideon Zelalem Arsenal jersey, lol). It also can’t hurt that Turner is an Arsenal supporter, who’s already endeared himself to supporters after a clip of him rejecting to sign a shirt for a Spurs fan went viral.

Hopefully, the new signing will emerge as a fan favourite with his assured displays between the sticks once the opportunities arise.