Matthew Charles Turner (born June 24, 1994) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and the United States national team.

Youth and college career

A native of

Park Ridge, New Jersey Park Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Park Ridge had a population of 8,645 as of the 2010 United States Census,Saint Joseph Regional High School Saint Joseph Regional High School (known as SJR, St. Joe's or Joe's) is a private, Catholic Church, Roman Catholic, University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for boys, located on a campus in Montvale, New Jersey, Montvale, in B ...

. Turner didn't play soccer until he was 14 years old, initially taking up the sport to stay in shape for his primary sports of basketball and baseball. He started playing in goal when the only other goalkeeper for his freshman team was injured at tryouts. Turner spent his entire collegiate career at

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...

. He made a total of 39 appearances for the Stags and finished with 21 shutouts. He was named to the All-

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

second team during his senior season. He also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

for

Jersey Express The Jersey Express is a team in the American Basketball Association based in Paterson, New Jersey. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express. Marsha Blount is the owner of the team. Inaugural season (2005–06) The Express ended the re ...

, leading the team to the PDL national semifinals in 2014.

Club career

New England Revolution

Turner was not selected in the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

, but he signed a professional contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) club

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

on March 3, 2016, after a successful preseason trial.

2016–17 seasons

CINvRIC 2017-07-09 - Matt Turner (40074313270) (cropped)

On April 29, he joined

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

club

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

on loan and made his professional debut a day later in a 1–0 victory over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...

. During his two loan stints with the Kickers, Turner recorded 7 shutouts in 27 starts.

2018 season

Turner earned the starting job for the Revolution entering the 2018 season, beating out

Brad Knighton Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player. College and amateur soccer Knighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Dev ...

and

Cody Cropper Cody Cropper (born February 16, 1993) is a retired American professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Youth soccer Born in Atlanta, Cropper moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota when he was 10. He played with the Minnesota Thunder ...

for the job. He made his MLS debut on March 3, 2018, in the Revolution's season opener against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

, making four saves in a 2–0 loss. Turner started all four of New England's matches to open the season, recording a 1.25 goals against average and 16 saves throughout that period. On March 31, 2018, he made six saves and recorded his first MLS clean sheet in the club's 2–0 win at

BBVA Compass Stadium Shell Energy Stadium (formerly BBVA Compass Stadium, BBVA Stadium, then PNC Stadium) is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas that is home to Houston Dynamo FC, a Major League Soccer club, the Houston Dash of the Nation ...

against

Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establis ...

. It was the first clean sheet a Revolution keeper had recorded since August 24, 2016. He recorded four more clean sheets over the 2018 season.

2019 season

After a difficult start to the 2019 season which saw Turner drop to third string behind Cropper and Knighton, he re-emerged as the starter for the club, ultimately starting 20 matches and recording five clean sheets. Turner would lead the Revolution to its first playoff match since 2015. It was also Turner's first playoff match. He started in the Revolution's 1–0 away loss to

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

in the first round of the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs. Turner finished as an MLS goalkeeper of the year finalist, ranking 5th in voting behind winner

Vito Mannone Vito Mannone (born 2 March 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Lorient. He has represented Italy at U21 level. Previously Mannone played for Arsenal, Barnsley, Hull City, Sunderland, Reading, M ...

, D.C. United's

Bill Hamid Abdul Bilal "Bill" Hamid ( ; born November 25, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. Born in Annandale, Virginia, Hamid was the first D.C. United Academy player to s ...

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

's Sean Johnson, and Atlanta's

Brad Guzan Bradley Edwin Guzan (; born September 9, 1984) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. A college soccer second ...

2020 season

Turner had a stand-out season in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and was subsequently named as a finalist for the

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United St ...

. Over the course of the season, Turner started 22 of the team's 23 matches, recording an 8–7–8 record, setting a new club record for goals against per game (1.08), recording six shut-outs, and leading his team to a second consecutive trip to the

MLS Cup Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualif ...

. At the conclusion of the season, Turner ranked second in Revs history in saves percentage and goals against average (1.36). He additionally finished as the leader ranked among the top-10 MLS goalkeepers in saves percentage, goals against average, and saves. His save percentage was the highest of any MLS keeper since the start of the 2019 season. He ultimately finished the season second in voting for the MLS goalkeeper of the year, behind

Andre Blake Andre Jason Blake (born 21 November 1990) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer and the Jamaica national team. College soccer Blake spent three years playing colleg ...

. In round one of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, Turner recorded a clean sheet against the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

-holding

in the Revolution's 2–0 win. Turner then saved a Nani penalty kick in the Revolution's Eastern Conference semifinal 3–1 victory over

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. In 2020, New England Revolution fans voted Turner the Revolution team MVP, his teammates voted him the Revolution Player of the Year, and Revolution

supporters group A supporters' group or supporters' club is an independent fan club or campaign group in sport, mostly association football. Supporters' groups in continental Europe are generally known as ultras, which derives from the Latin word ultrā, mean ...

the Midnight Riders voted him the Midnight Riders Man of the Year.

2021 season

Turner continued to play well over the course of the 2021 season, recording a 1.25 goals-against average, a 73.2 save percentage, and five shutouts over 28 starts. He was named the 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. He was the first keeper in Revolution history to earn the honor. During the 2021 season, Turner was named

2021 MLS All-Star Game The 2021 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 25th edition of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, an exhibition soccer match in the United States. The game, featuring the MLS All-Stars taking on the Liga MX All-Stars, was played a ...

MVP after making two penalty saves against the

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

All stars on August 25, 2021. He also set a club record with 17 regular season wins, which was tied for the most in the league.

Arsenal

On February 11, 2022, it was announced that Turner and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

had agreed to a deal that would see him move to the London club in the summer of 2022. He was Arsenal's first summer signing of the window. Arsenal reportedly paid a transfer fee of $6 million that could potentially rise to $10 million. On June 27, 2022, Arsenal announced Turner as the new player on a long-term contract. Turner was given the number 30 shirt. Turner started Arsenal's July 8, 2022, friendly at 1. FC Nürnberg. Arsenal won the match 5–3. On September 8, 2022, Turner started against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

during the

2022–23 UEFA Europa League The 2022–23 UEFA Europa League is the 52nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 14th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final will be played at the Puská ...

group stage, which Arsenal won 2–1. On October 6, Turner recorded his first clean sheet for the club in a 3–0 win against Bodø/Glimt at the Emirates in the subsequent Europa League fixture. Following this, Turner recorded back-to-back clean sheets in further Europa League wins against Bodø/Glimt again and

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

. The former of the two performances, a 1–0 away win at the Aspmyra Stadion on October 13, drew praise from Arsenal manager

Mikel Arteta Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of club Arsenal. Arteta began his senior career at Barcelona in 1999 but limited playing time led to a loan to Paris ...

International career

Turner made his international debut on January 31, 2021, for the United States men's national team, starting in goal against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in a friendly match. Turner recorded a clean sheet, saving a penalty kick from Alvin Jones. Turner started in all six games for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He recorded five clean sheets, including one in a 1–0 win against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. For his performance, Turner was awarded “Best Goalkeeper” of the tournament. In November 2022, Turner was selected for the

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

squad that competed in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, where he played as the primary goalkeeper for the American squad. Although the United States bowed out of the World Cup in their first knockout match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Turner's performance was praised throughout the tournament as he did not concede a goal in open play in the group stage and made a number of key saves.

Personal life

Turner is Jewish. Turner and his father both obtained Lithuanian passports in 2020; Turner's paternal great-grandmother fled from religious persecution during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and as Jews emigrated from

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. His father's family is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and they

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

their surname from "Turnovski" to ″Turner″ at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

when immigrating, whereas his mother's family is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He married ex-NFL cheerleader Ashley Herron in 2022. Their son Easton was born on June 29, 2022.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

New England Revolution *

Individual *CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Glove Award:

*CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI:

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

*MLS All-Star Game MVP:

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regula ...

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...