"I would have liked to play more..." - Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner wants greater role at the Emirates

Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner has opened up on his first season in English football and admits he wants more game time under Mikel Arteta.

Turner, 28, joined Arsenal from MLS side New England Revolution last summer in a deal worth up to £7.5m.

He has spent much of the season on the bench, with Aaron Ramsdale preferred in goal by Arteta.

In total, Turner made seven appearances in his first season in England, five coming in the Europa League and another two in the FA Cup.

Reflecting on his first season in the Premier League, Turner told USA Today Sports: "It's changed me, made me a better goalkeeper, a better person, a better player.

"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 determined to prove doubters wrong

Turner went undrafted in Major League Soccer early on in his career but worked his way up to becoming first-choice at New England and eventually for the United States national side, replacing Zack Steffen in the role for the World Cup in Qatar.

And the 28-year-old believes he can continue to prove his doubters wrong at Arsenal.

"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 added.

"[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."

Turner is expected to start for the USA when they face Mexico in their CONCACAF Nations League semi-final next week.

They will then face Jamaica (June 25), a qualifier (June 29) and Nicaragua (July 3) in the Gold Cup.

Topics: Arsenal, Football, Premier League, USA

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan