His club future is uncertain but Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan says a six-month loan at Arsenal showed he's capable of being part of an elite European club.
Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan believes his six-month loan spell at English giants Arsenal has shown he can handle life at an elite European club.
Ryan made three appearances during his stint at the Gunners, admitting he still can't quite believe he played for the club he grew up supporting as a boy in Sydney's western suburbs.
The 29-year-old is expected to retain the No.1 jersey, and most likely the captaincy, when Australia resume their World Cup qualifying journey in Kuwait next week.
Thrilled to be back with the Socceroos after their 18-month COVID-enforced hiatus, Ryan says he arrives in camp full of belief and confidence after his time at Arsenal.
"It was so cool to be a part of and ultimately I was very fortunate, but at the same time worked hard to get a couple of opportunities," Ryan said.
"I set obviously a couple of little goals when I had signed for the club ... I wanted to get out play games and started with an unfortunate loss, that was the debut, and had a draw after that and finally got a win as well and managed to play a game at the Emirates.
"That was a great experience and I was really proud of how I did.
"Really content with how I did and I think I showed that I have the capability to play at a level like that.
"I look forward to seeing what that little period now means for me moving forward."
Ryan is still under contract for another 12 months with Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion but appears unlikely to return to the Seagulls after being frozen out last season by manager Graham Potter.
After the looming qualifiers against Kuwait, Taiwan, Nepal and Jordan, Ryan will look to secure his future back in Europe - and hasn't ruled out a return to north London.
"I've got full faith in the team around me - agent, family, friends and all that - that we're going to get a couple of options and go about making what's going to be the best decision for me," Ryan said.
"Hopefully Arsenal becomes one of those options as well that we can look at and see what can happen there.
"It's still quite early, the season's just finished so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks."
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