Arsenal have completed the signing of goalkeeper Mat Ryan from Brighton on loan until the end of the campaign.
The London side sold Emiliano Martinez in the summer after Mikel Arteta refused to guarantee the Argentine keeper he would be the club’s undisputed No.1, despite his spectacular form at the end of last season.
Martinez was replaced by Alex Runarsson in the summer, but he has failed to convince and is likely to be deemed surplus to requirements after his poor performance in last month’s Carabao Cup defeat against Man City.
Arsenal also allowed Matt Macey to join Hibernian this month and had been on the lookout for a reliable deputy for Bernd Leno who has been a regular in the Premier League this campaign.
Ryan had been a regular player in the Brighton team which has spent the last three-and-a-half years as a top flight side but lost his place this season to Robert Sanchez.
The Australia international arrives with enough experience under his belt and could be eligible to make his debut in Arsenal’s FA Cup game against Southampton on Saturday.
Explaining the reason behind the deal, Arsenal technical director, Edu, said: ‘Mat is an experienced goalkeeper, a proven talent in the Premier League and has also played many internationals for Australia.
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‘Mat will further strengthen our squad with his experience and knowledge of playing at the highest level.
‘Following Matt Macey’s recent move to Hibernian, Mat will provide very good competition and positive support to all our goalkeepers and we are looking forward to him integrating quickly into the set-up here at Arsenal.’
