Mat Ryan has offered some insight as to how his time at Arsenal ended.
The Australian goalkeeper moved to the Emirates on loan in January 2021, making three Premier League appearances for the club as an understudy to Bernd Leno.
While the ‘keeper made clear his desire to move to the club on a permanent basis, it was Leno who would soon become second-choice after Arsenal paid £30m to bring Aaron Ramsdale to the club from Sheffield United.
Since, Ramsdale has established himself as one of the Premier League’s leading goalkeepers, helping form the base of Mikel Arteta’s young side as they push for Champions League qualification.
Ryan would ultimately move to Spanish side Real Sociedad, where he has made nine appearances across all competitions.
Speaking to The Athletic about life in La Liga, Ryan revealed that he held talks with Arteta about the prospect of a permanent move, only for the situation to have changed over the course of the summer.
“I had a sit-down with Arteta at the end of the season,” he said.
“It was all very positive. He said I’d exceeded everyone’s expectations and I gave him quite a lot of headaches in selection.
“His comment to me was, ‘I’m going to speak to the club about trying to sign you permanently.’ Over the summer, we were waiting. The club never contacted us directly, then it got to the point where I had another offer (from Sociedad). We went back to Arsenal and they just said I wasn’t No 1 on their list.”
