‘He’s really impressed me’: Arsenal January signing says he’s ‘thriving’ under Mikel Arteta

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Arsenal January signing Mat Ryan says he’s “thriving” at the Gunners and wants to give Mikel Arteta a selection headache going forward.

The Brighton-owned goalkeeper, a boyhood Arsenal fan, linked up with the Emirates Stadium side in January on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Ryan had fallen out of favour at Brighton, losing his spot to Robert Sanchez after a 3-0 loss to Leicester in December.

Arsenal, meanwhile, were on the lookout for a new deputy for Bernd Leno after summer signing Alex Runarsson struggled when handed the first-team gloves.

Ryan made his debut against Aston Villa but was unfortunate to concede after just 74 seconds, his defence letting him down as Ollie Watkins netted with an effort which deflected off Rob Holding.

To his credit, the 28-year-old impressed for the remainder of the game, thwarting Watkins, Bertrand Traore and Jack Grealish.

Speaking to The World Game, Ryan is eager to give Arteta food for thought in terms of who to name in goal, with Bernd Leno the current first-choice stopper.

“Although we lost the game against Villa, I think I can take a lot of positives from that that match,” he said.

“I don’t think I did myself any harm in terms of getting more opportunities between now and the end of the season.

“Hopefully I’m able to provide a bit of a headache for the manager in his team selection going forward, and create competition for spots.”

He also spoke highly of Arteta, saying: “He’s really impressed me since coming in.

“The sense I get is that he’s been able to exert more of an effect on the team by perhaps cleaning out some of the players who didn’t quite buy in to what he was trying to accomplish,”

“He’s a manager who pays great attention to detail … you see that with the team meetings every day, where he goes over everything with a fine tooth comb.

“He makes it clear what’s expected of each player in every aspect of the game.

“It’s all about instilling a winning mentality and everyone is buying into that. I really feel like I’m thriving in this environment.”

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Ryan may have conceded early on against Villa, but it wasn’t through a mistake of his own, and he made amends with an impressive performance which bodes well for the rest of the season.

While Bernd Leno is likely to remain Arteta’s first choice, it’s good to know there’s a proven, experienced and capable goalkeeper with the right attitude in wanting to claim the gloves for himself.