As Matt Turner begins at Arsenal, he faces uncertainty over his USMNT World Cup fate

BALTIMORE — As Matt Turner awaited kickoff, a hearty cheer swelled up from the mass of Arsenal fans behind his net. And with every save he made during Saturday’s preseason exhibition against Everton, those fans chanted “U-S-A!” at him.

It was the sort of experience he dreamed of as an Arsenal fan growing up, and the sort he hoped for when the Gunners signed him from the New England Revolution earlier this year for up to $10 million.

But it wasn’t a contest that actually mattered, the kind Turner’s club will play when the season kicks off next month. And like so much of the crowd of 39,245 at M&T Bank Stadium, Turner knew that he likely won’t have that experience much when he returns across the Atlantic Ocean. Turner is Arsenal’s No. 2 goalkeeper, behind incumbent Aaron Ramsdale.

So the question that has trailed Turner for months still lingers.

Will he get enough playing time this fall to deserve to start for the U.S. at the World Cup in November? Especially with Zack Steffen moving on loan from Manchester City to Middlesbrough so he can play every week?

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It hung over Turner’s final games for New England, and his two shutouts for the U.S. national team in June. Now it drifted in from the Inner Harbor, seasoning the air like the Old Bay spice atop so many crab cakes in town.

“They wouldn’t have brought me here if they didn’t think that I could compete,” Turner said. “So I’m going to take this preseason, every opportunity I get to step on the field, play to the best of my ability, push hard in training, learn, grow, adapt, enjoy it.”

His reflection of the chemistry among Arsenal’s goalkeepers sounded similar to words heard around the U.S. national team.

“We all have that respect for each other, we all push each other, we want what’s best for each and every one of each other, and that’s a really good feeling,” he said. “Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed — but as a goalkeeper, you’re always living on that fence where it’s thin. If you fall one way, you’re a hero, and if you fall the other way, you could be a goat or the villain.

And he added: “It can be tough psychologically, and that’s why you have to rely on the people around you.”

It was that way in his preseason debut, a 5-3 Arsenal win at German second-division club Nürnberg in which Turner gave up the first two goals. Things went much better against Everton, a 2-0 victory.

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“I had probably one down day [at practice] of just a bit of the shock — of the speed and the smartness with which players press, the consistency with which they finish, the speed of the ball, the areas that they put the ball [in],” Turner said. “I thought it was going to be a lot easier than it would be to adjust to it. I think I thought, ‘Oh, I’m really good at X-Y-Z, and that means that it’ll translate.’ No, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and a bit of adjusting in some technical things in order to have success.”

But he said the adjustment hasn’t taken long, helped by film study and “having a clear message from the coaching staff — which I have, on what they expect from their goalkeepers in this system.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta vouched for this Saturday night.

“I’m really happy with him,” Arteta said. “The way he’s settled in, he’s an extraordinary character, has a lot of personality, and he’s great with what we want. Obviously, it was a big moment for him to come wear the Arsenal shirt in the States and play in front of the crowd, and he did really well.”

Turner’s integration off the field seems to have gone very well, which is news on its own. American players used to get frosty receptions in European club locker rooms, but now Turner is one of many Yanks on the old continent who’ve been warmly received.

“Very positive, very kind as well,” veteran Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka said of Turner. “Big personality, in my opinion, and I’m looking forward to seeing [him] much more in training. He’s maybe a person who can help, of course, the goalkeepers, but maybe us outside the pitch as well.”

Everyone has taken notice of the fact that Turner arrived at a much older age, 28, than American imports often do. The Bergen County, N.J., native is the second-oldest goalkeeper on an Arsenal whose oldest players are 30: netminder Bernd Leno (who’s likely leaving soon), right back Cédric Soares, and midfielder Mohamed Elneny.

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“Being 28 in this locker room, in Arsenal, is kind of being like a dinosaur, because there’s so many young talents on this team,” Turner said. “So being somebody that those guys can rely on for advice on the pitch, off the pitch, whatever it is, I’m looking forward to that role.”

He certainly has a story to tell. Turner didn’t start playing soccer until age 14, played four years of college at Fairfield, then signed with New England after going undrafted in 2016. His wife gave birth to their first child earlier this month. Turner’s parents are with his wife in London, so they couldn’t attend Saturday’s game. His sisters represented the family in the stands, and he saw them from the field.

“Hearing the chants of ‘U-S-A!’ as I’m going around the field, that’s a really good feeling,” Turner said. “I just hope that there [were] kids in the stands tonight that look at me and look at my journey, and think to themselves that it’s possible for them to also play in the Premier League.”

Possible, yes. But will it happen for him?

There’s the rub again.

The question went to Arteta: What do you hope to see from Turner in the coming months?

He knew his audience, but the answer bears remembering.

“That he continues to do the same,” Arteta said, “and he will keep having chances to play.”

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