PREMIER LEAGUE legend Brad Friedel has tipped Arsenal’s new American signings Matt Turner and Auston Trusty to be a success at the Emirates.
The 50-year-old, who played 82 times for the USA, knows the pair well having coached them across the pond.
Matt Turner will be looking to challenge Aaron Ramsdale for the No1 spot at Arsenal next term
American defender Auston Trusty will link up with the Gunners in the summer from Colorado Rapids
It was announced earlier this month how the Gunners had reached an agreement with New England Revolution for the services of shot-stopper Turner – following their deal to sign centre-back Trusty from Colorado Rapids.
Both players will stay with their respective MLS teams until the summer and Friedel, who managed Turner at the Gillette Stadium, has backed the 27-year-old to challenge Aaron Ramsdale for the No1 jersey with Bernd Leno expected to depart.
Speaking to SunSport via bet365, ex-Blackburn and Tottenham star Friedel said: “I coached Matt and gave him his professional debut. Matt is an outstanding shot-stopper.
“He will be able to put pressure on Ramsdale, I’ve no doubt about it.
“What I would say, is this will be the first time in Matt’s career that he sees what competition for places truly is. He’s such a good kid and a solid human being.
“With my other North London ties, I’ve not spoken with anyone at Arsenal about him or on behalf of him, so I don’t know what the plans are, with Ramsdale, Leno and the amazing goalkeeper they have in their academy.
“But this will be the first time Matt goes into a club and sees four, five, six top quality goalkeepers all training at the same time, so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes with it all.
“Can he challenge? Yeah, absolutely – but like anyone he’ll need to adapt and get used to the pace of the game.
“What’s great is he’ll be getting a pre-season with Arsenal, so perfect for him to get acclimated.”
Friedel, who worked with Trusty when he was USA’s Under-19s head coach, believes the 23-year-old’s versatility makes him an attractive option for Mikel Arteta.
He remarked: “I coached Auston as well, really good in defence, really powerful in the air, left-footed so he can be deployed as a left sided centre-back but also a left-back if needs be.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel has backed Turner and Trusty to be a success at the Emirates
“This will be an interesting one to see. It’s going to be a big jump for Auston, but he’s a great kid, really hard worker and I want to see everything work out for him, I really do.
“It’ll be interesting to see the amount of playing time he can get. I wouldn’t want to say now it’ll be a certainty that he’ll be sent out on loan.
“Because like Matt Turner, he’ll join in the summer and go through a pre-season, so let’s see what happens and whether he can win himself a place inside that squad.”
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