#PLStories- #MatyRyan reveals his sadness at being asked to leave Brighton and joining Arsenal #BHAFC

Maty Ryan said: “I can comfortably look myself in the mirror and realise I give everything of myself and my life to try and be able to perform at my full potential. I take peace of mind in being able to do that. I had in my mind a little bit of a plan that I wanted to play a couple of seasons at Brighton and try and do well and hopefully be bought by a bigger club and keep progressing in my career. Perhaps it didn’t work out in the way of playing two, three seasons and then being bought for a fee as. No.1 and going and playing. But one way or another I’ve obviously ended up in a massive step up from Brighton and to another level of football. Playing at the pinnacle of the game and being a part of a team like this. Trying to enjoy the journey and take advantage of all that’s in front of me at the moment. I’m not the first player to be in a situation where you are not wanted or you are not perceived or viewed as being the best man for the job. There’s a number of reasons that can happen. Whether it is a performance thing or an opinion of a manager that one (player) is better than another. You never really know if there is a political or business side of things behind decisions. As players sometimes it is really hard to get the real insight as to the reason why. You can go stir crazy in your head trying to figure it out. This season at Brighton, the longer it was going on there were more and more signs that were happening that I just didn’t feel the full support of the club. It’s very hard to thrive when you are not feeling the support of the business or the company. Unfortunately for me, that’s how I was feeling when I look back this whole season. I’m not trying to make an excuse. I also wasn’t able to get the job done out on the pitch.”

Ryan was initially left out at Tottenham on November 1 but returned immediately and made five more appearances. His last outing was the 3-0 defeat at Leicester. Ryan revealed in the days after that match he was told by head coach Graham Potter he was being left out for the midweek fixture at Fulham. But he was more surprised to be told he could leave in January.

Maty Ryan said: “He (Potter) started thanking me for my time at the club, saying ‘You’ve been a great servant for the club, can’t say a bad word about you, you’ve been professional’ and all this. I was stunned by it and I had to stop him and clarify it. I was a bit shocked to hear that at that time and how it all unfolded. It sort of contradicted a couple of things he had said to me previously after dropping me the first time.”

Ryan made his Arsenal debut in defeat at Aston Villa last Saturday. He was back on the bench this afternoon for the fixture at home to Leeds. But he is eyeing opportunities in the Europa League.