Arsenal: Mat Ryan opens the door to Gunners stay as on-loan keeper admits he has had ‘a blast’

Mat Ryan has suggested he could prolong his spell at Arsenal after his loan stint from Brighton came to an end. 

The Australian has spent the second half of the campaign at the Emirates after losing his No.1 spot at the AMEX to Robert Sanchez, coming in to provide competition to Bernd Leno.

The 29-year-old, who grew up supporting the Gunners, was full of praise about how he has been treated since arriving in north London, admitting he has had ‘a blast’ at the club and has ‘learnt so much’.

Mat Ryan has hinted at a possible Arsenal stay after his loan from Brighton came to an end 

The Australian (far left) hailed the Gunners for making him welcome during his stay in London

Ryan opened the door to a possible future with Arsenal despite being set to return to the Seagulls following the end of the season – insisting he is ‘excited for what the future may bring’. 

‘Have had a blast with this last chapter experiencing all that’s been involved in representing Arsenal,’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘Have learnt so much and enjoyed every minute of it.

‘To the many great people around the club whom I’ve had the pleasure of associating with, thank you for making me feel welcome and making the transition into the family a very easy one.

‘I look forward to continuing the relationships well into the future. Excited for what the future will bring.’

He admitted he had ‘learnt so much’ working with Bernd Leno (L) and was excited for the future

The 29-year-old had fallen down the pecking order at Brighton and was sent out on loan

The emergence of Robert Sanchez at Brighton this season has thrown his future at the club into doubt. He started the season as Graham Potter’s first choice but looked unconfident in between the sticks and was dropped in December. 

Since Sanchez took over the gloves, he has been of the Brighton’s top performers, helping to keep ten clean sheets. Ryan was shipped to Arsenal – playing his first game in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in February. 

He also featured in a 1-1 draw against Fulham in April before keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle the following month.

After joining Arsenal at the beginning of the year, Ryan explained his love for the club and how he first became a supporter while watching a documentary about club legend Thierry Henry. 

He revealed had grown up supporting Arsenal after watching a Thierry Henry documentary

‘I was a young kid at my friend’s house and we were watching television at the time and on came a documentary of Thierry Henry,’ he told Arsenal.com.

‘Being a football lover, me and my friend sat there watching and we were just in awe of his achievements and what he was doing in this documentary. It was obviously a montage of highlights, of goals he’d scored and the success he’d helped contribute to at Arsenal with what they’d won in those times.

‘From that moment on, I basically fell in love with him and the club and became an Arsenal supporter. I have been, I was going to say until this day, but I guess when I was down there in Brighton and signed there, you guys became a rival.

‘So I guess a little less so then, but it’s still a club that had a special place in my heart and now even more so than it ever has in the past because I’ve got the opportunity to represent them now.’