A former Arsenal player has revealed that he wishes he were still playing for the North London club.
Matt Turner recently expressed regret at leaving the Gunners so prematurely, joining an infamous list of players who have departed N5 and later felt it was the wrong decision.
The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Alex Hleb and Alex Song have publicly revealed that they are in this category, and now there is a new entrant.
That said, the latest to claim they want to still be playing for Arsenal but aren’t doesn’t regret the decision he made when opting to leave.
Matt Turner wanted to stay longer
It wasn’t a long stint by any means. The American joined from New England Revolution in 2022 but left after just a single season. Now with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, his time at Arsenal featured mainly as backup, highlighted by only seven cup appearances without featuring in any league matches. He reflected on his departure while speaking on CBS Sports Golazo’s “Call It What You Want” podcast:
“I wish I was still at Arsenal,” he admitted. “When you’re there, you don’t take those things for granted.”
However, despite this admission, Turner clarified that he does not regret his decision to leave: “No [I don’t regret leaving], because you can’t know what you know until you do something. In my case it was what I felt like I needed at the time.”
Since leaving North London in 2023, Turner’s career has taken him across several clubs without much stability or sustained form. He spent time on loan at FC København during the 2023/24 season before joining New England Revolution again in July 2024.
This marks another chapter for him outside of England and it remains to be seen if he will ever make his way back into English football again.
Amario Cozier-Duberry: leaving Arsenal wasn’t easy
Amario Cozier-Duberry moved from Arsenal to Brighton during the summer window in 2024.
The young winger came up through Hale End but decided to move on after failing to break into the first team. The decision was tough, especially since he’d been with the club since his youth days.
Even though he was named on Mikel Arteta’s bench eight times, he never made a senior appearance for his childhood club.
Cozier-Duberry, now thriving at Bolton in League One, offered some insight into why he left Arsenal while speaking with Sky Sports. He explained that although it wasn’t an easy choice, Brighton offered a clearer path to regular football.
“I joined Arsenal in the under-15s,” Cozier-Duberry told Sky Sports.
“I climbed up the ranks, from 16s, to 18s and then the 21s. Yeah, I left last season, or the season before last, sorry, to join Brighton. I felt like it was a better pathway for me. I then joined Blackburn on loan last season. This season I’m on loan at Bolton. It’s been quite quick.”
“It was quite a tough decision to make to leave because I’m an Arsenal fan,” said Cozier-Duberry.”
Amario Cozier-Duberry says leaving Arsenal was a ‘tough decision’
Amario Cozier-Duberry left Arsenal for Brighton in the summer of 2024. The young winger had come up through the Hale End Academy but chose to leave after failing to break into the Gunners’ youth setup early on.
While he was named on Mikel Arteta’s bench eight times, he never made a first-team appearance for his boyhood club.
Now enjoying his loan spell at Bolton from Brighton, Cozier-Duberry has shed some light on why he decided to leave the Emirates.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the 19-year-old explained that although he would have liked to stay at Arsenal, he felt leaving was necessary to pursue regular senior football. “I joined Arsenal in the under-15s,” he said.
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“I climbed up the ranks, from 16s, to 18s and then the 21s. Yeah, I left last season, or the season before last, sorry, to join Brighton. I felt like it was a better pathway for me. I then joined Blackburn on loan last season. This season, I’m on loan at Bolton. It’s been quite quick.”
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