If he continues to find himself frozen out ofLa Real’s starting XI for no good reason,Ryan admits he may have to look elsewhere for regular football. But the 29-year-old has no real desire to move away from a team that has emerged as surprise La Liga title contenders a third of the way through the season,and is confident the wheel will turn for him if he keeps putting in the hard yards at training.
“It hurts not seeing my name[on the teamsheet]. That’s the motivation to get out there and keep working,” Ryan said.
“In the past,when I was younger and more immature at Valencia,I used to spit the dummy a lot more and give up,thinking ‘what’s the point of training?’ Looking back,I don’t think it was the right approach.
“I look at all the games that I’ve played since I made the move to Arsenal and it hasn’t been regular football,but I think I’ve been in career-best form,to be honest. I put it all down to my approach and commitment to training,and that’s allowed me,come match day,to feel sharp and make the most of my opportunities when they do come around. It’s proven to myself,I don’t need to be playing week-in,week-out in order to sustain a high level of play.
“Don’t get me wrong,I’m by no means content playing one game a month. But what can I do,other than go out on the training pitch and try and influence[the manager] to change his mind? Obviously if that pattern continues from here on out,I guess you’ve got to look at your options at a certain point. But there’s still a lot of football to be played.”
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His salubrious surrounds are,perhaps,another reason why he’s happy to stay put for now - Real Sociedad is based in San Sebastian,one of Spain’s top tourist cities,which he likens a little to Byron Bay with the ubiquity of lattes,surfboards and açai bowls.
“I’ve actually had quite a few visitors come and take advantage. I don’t know whether it’s my friendship they like or just where I’m living,that they’re starting to come more frequently,” Ryan laughed. “It’s a mini-paradise.”
More than anything,though,Ryan is looking forward to coming home this week. He hasn’t visited Sydney since the pandemic first stopped world football a year and a half ago,and the Socceroos are counting on a capacity crowd at CommBank Stadium to will them home against Saudi Arabia in Thursday night’s must-win World Cup qualifier.
“It’s nice to get back and play in front of our supporters,” he said. “The fact it’s been so long since we were able to do that,we’re never going to take that for granted again anytime soon. I’m excited. It’s going to be the most important game of our lives so far,in terms of qualification. That’s how we’ve got to go there and treat it.”