Kevin Campbell has claimed that Matt Turner ‘needs more help’ from defender Gabriel after he had an unsteady start on his Arsenal debut, as he told the Highbury Squad.
The former striker was making reference to Gabriel’s back pass to Turner during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over FC Zurich on their opening night of the Europa League on Thursday.
Aaron Ramsdale is Arsenal’s undisputed number one, with summer signing Turner, who joined from the MLS, as the back-up to the England international.
In pre-season, some fans were questioning whether Turner is capable of stepping up to the plate when he is put into the spotlight.
It’s one thing having to deal with the pressure for the New England Revolution than it is for one of England’s biggest clubs and a team vying to return to the Champions League.
But Campbell feels that, before Turner can get his hands warm, there are people trying to ‘zero in’ on the 28-year-old, as he was critical of Gabriel’s actions that put him under serious pressure on his debut.
“I think people are looking to zero in on Matt Turner anyway,” said Campbell. “Gabriel’s back pass put him right into problems.
“It looked bad, it smelt bad and it felt bad. If that’s really your first engagement, then you are going to start to feel the pressure after that because, all of a sudden, everybody is looking at you. I think Gabriel gave him a bad turn.
“I didn’t think he had that bad of a game. He did look flappy at times. At the end of the day, it’s his first start. Again that badge ways heavy, so he has got to get used to it.
“I think he will be alright. I like to think, give it a few months, he is still new and just made his debut. He will be better for it, but he needs more help from Gabriel, I tell you that much.”
ARSENAL’S NUMBER TWO ISSUES
Bernd Leno was the perfect back-up for Arsenal, especially given that he donned the number one gloves for a very long time and he did a great job.
But the German international is too good to be sitting on the bench, that’s why he secured a summer move to newly-promoted, Fulham.
There will be some Arsenal fans who will have flashbacks of Alex Runarsson’s time in between the sticks, which is fair to say, was a disaster upon disaster.
But Turner deserves patience and time to build because, if he can grow, then it puts the club into good stead for the long run.
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