“Not Nelson Reiss”: Brad Friedel tells Mikel Arteta that Arsenal star is ‘too good to be on the bench’
Former Tottenham and Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel believes Matt Turner should consider leaving Arsenal.
Turner moved from MLS side New England Revolution to the Emirates over the summer for £5.7million, where he is serving as No.2 keeper to Aaron Ramsdale.
The 28-year-old has played just four games for the Gunners so far, all in the Europa League, and has looked decent keeping three clean sheets and conceding just one goal.
However, it seems highly unlikely that Turner will surpass Ramsdale in the pecking order, with the England international still very much Mikel Arteta’s favourite.
With the World Cup just around the corner, Turner was perhaps hoping that a move to Arsenal could help his chances of becoming the USA’s first choice keeper come Qatar 2022.
He faces stiff competition from Zach Steffen, the Manchester City player who is spending the season on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough.
Turner’s lack of game isn’t helping his cause and Friedel believes the keeper may come to regret joining the Gunners.
Time will tell if it’s the right decision,’ the 82-capped American told Fair Betting Sites.
‘When you’re in the MLS, this is what I’ll say – it’s hard to turn down a club like Arsenal coming in for you.
‘But when you move and you’re as good as Matt Turner, I’d like to think that you would move and you’re being told that you were gonna be the number one which obviously wasn’t the case at Arsenal.
‘Matt’s a heck of a nice guy and a heck of a good goalkeeper. I personally think he’s too good of a goalkeeper to be sitting on the bench.
‘I don’t know what kind of deal they have with Arsenal or what, but I hope if he’s not in the team, or doesn’t look like he’s gonna get near the team, then they would allow him to leave or go on loan.’
Turner is likely to come up against several of his Arsenal teammates including Ramsdale at the World Cup, with the USA drawn in the same group as England as well as Wales and Iran.
