by Layth Yousif
at London Colney

ARSENAL keeper Matt Turner is relishing playing under Mikel Arteta – and can’t wait to face Dutch opponents PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League in North London on Thursday evening. 

The engaging 28-year-old signed from New England Revolution in the summer, kept a clean sheet in Norway last time out, during the club’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bodo/Glimt.

The New Jersey-born shotstopper’s performance in the Arctic Circle had been hailed by Arteta as ‘phenomenal’ – but modest Turner is refusing to get carried away. 

Speaking in response to a question from the Morning Star, Ryan said: “It felt really good [to be praised] but it’s only one match – it’s how I can take that one performance and build on it and continue to get better. 

“My goal is to take this as far as I possibly can to the highest possible level.

“Good performances are good, but you tick the box and keep going. Working under [Arteta] has been fantastic. He’s somebody who challenges me. He worked out what makes me tick early on – because I’m super competitive and hold myself to the highest standards.

“Sometimes the way we train and the way we play can come with a bit of failure – because I’ve been taking more risks as I have been in the past. It was challenging for me at first but he always picked me up and told me to always keep my head high, even if I was frustrated. 

“He would say: ‘Don’t show it, just keep going,’ because in football and in life there are loads of failures and it’s really about how you react to them and how you pick yourself back up. 

“That was the message that really helped ground myself into the team, start to show my personality and get to know the guys and feel like somebody who the guys can trust.”

Ryan’s boss Arteta has also been looking towards the clash with PSV. 

Despite Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Martinelli missing training at London Colney on Wednesday afternoon, the Gunners boss refused to rule the pair out of contention.

The North Londoners go into the match top of Group A with three wins from three, with a draw securing qualification. 

PSV boss and former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side are second on seven points.

Runners-up in the group face an additional two matches in a February play-off against teams eliminated from the Champions League – and Arteta is keen to avoid the extra congestion. 

“Where we want to be is at the top and the best team in this country,” Arteta said.

Arsenal had been due to play Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Wednesday evening, but the match was postponed following the re-arrangement of the fixture against the side from Eindhoven, that was shelved following The Queen’s death. 

However, Arteta refused to be drawn on a question by the Morning Star on whether he would have liked to face his former side City, or PSV this week, given the great form his side is in domestically. “It is what it is,” the boss said phlegmatically. 

Arteta also played down whether van Nistelrooy would receive a less than warm welcome at Ashburton Grove, given his prominence during the height of the Arsenal vs Manchester United rivalry. “I don’t know, it’s a long way back…I wasn’t involved,” he said with a wry smile. 

Arsenal vs PSV. Thursday, 6pm kick off