Matt Turner after the 1-0 win over El Salvador on Jan. 27. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

He is at the top of the heap of American goalkeepers.

New England Revolution keeper Matt Turner was the 2021 MLS goalkeeper of the year, and he has backstopped a majority of World Cup qualifiers.

So, why would some decide to take the great leap across the pond, and battle for a position with Arsenal when he gets plenty of playing time in MLS?

Well, opportunities to play for a storied English Premier League side don’t grow on trees. So when opportunities knock, you have to grab them.

Turner will join Arsenal during the summer transfer window.

“When I first started trying to become a professional soccer player, most teams said no,” Turner said during a Zoom media session on Thursday. “I came in, I was a three, I was a two. When I got my first chance with the national team it was only as a number three. No one ever really took me seriously.

“I’m not going over there just to collect a check and ride off into the sunset. I’m going to push myself, I’m going to push Aaron [Ramsdale, the No. 1 goalie] and continue to help him get better and help myself get better, and obviously I’m going to try to challenge for games.”

Turner said he hadn’t talked to the USA’s other top goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, who is a backup at Manchester City in the EPL “because they’re his own.”

“I don’t really like to put myself into anybody else’s shoes except for my own,” he added. “I think my path has carved very uniquely and it’ll continue to go that way. I’m 27, almost 28. I’ve been playing really well for the better part of three years, and this is the first club to make a concrete offer. I understand that it’s really challenging to get your foot in the door. So, it’s really hard to say no to not only the chance to go fulfill a dream, but also to go challenge myself at the highest level and play for one of the biggest, most recognizable brands in the world in Arsenal.”

Turner said he wasn’t concerned on whether the transfer to the English Premier League side would hurt  his chances of playing with the national team. He would join the team as the No. 2 or 3 keeper.

“You have to control what you can,” he said. “I know Gregg [Berhalter, USMNT] was a big supporter of this move. So at the end of the day, it’s going to be how I continue to progress, play in almost 20 games in the early parts of the season, and then get the move overseas and get to work in understanding a new culture, a new way of life, a different league, quality players from top to bottom that will really help me.”

He added that Arsenal’s style was to the USMNT.

“It’ll be more exposure to that type of play,” he said. “I think it’s going to help me in the long run. I think I’m in a pretty good spot and I really like how everything’s progressing.”

Turner’s transfer saga occurred during U.S. men’s national team training camp for World Cup qualifying during the January window. He said that he had heard rumblings of interest the past few months, “but it always seemed like a longshot.”

The Gunners then put an offer in in early January.

“I don’t think there was too much else to it,” Turner said. “Back and forth, back and forth. And then on the day we were playing El Salvador, it finally went through. It was emotional. It was up and down. Sometimes it was more dead than ever, sometimes it was more alive than ever, but that’s the first time I’ve ever been through something like that. So to have it all come through and then come out and put in a good performance and get three points for the national team, it was a very sort of euphoric day for me in my life and my career.”

The U.S. defeated El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 27.

Turner has been an Arsenal fan for years. Both his older sisters played for the Pascack Arsenal after the 2010 World Cup. He got into the Gunner while he was playing the FIFA electronic game.

“I’m looking at the first team in the Premier League is Arsenal, and I said, ‘Oh, that kind of makes sense,’ ” he said. “I just kind of stuck with them. Then I learned about their history, about Highbury, and their move to the Emirates and just all, you know, The Invincibles – everything about Arsenal. Thierry Henry, who was playing with Red Bull at the time. It all just kind of made sense.

“So obviously then you dream, right? You dream and you want things to happen for you in your life, and you don’t really see a clear path of how they’re going to happen. But you just trust the work and trust your dream every single day, and continue to work hard, be self-aware, know what you need to work on, and listen to your coaches around you that have your best interests in mind. This whole moment and everything is truly surreal. It’s hard to even put into words.”

During the media session, Turner wore a NJ/NY Gotham FC training shirt.

“I’m from New Jersey, New York,” said Turner, whose hometown is Park Ridge, N.J. “I’ve got to rep the home state, the home team, promote NWSL any way I can. Hopefully Gotham [will] have a great season. I’m really excited with their new GM hire, Yael Averbuch. She’s a good friend of mine. I just want to show support for the team in any way that I can.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.