Matt Macey

Matt Macey

Macey playing for Arsenal U21 in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Ryan Macey [1]
Date of birth	(1994-09-09) 9 September 1994 (age 30) [2]
Place of birth	Bath, England
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) [3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Colchester United
Number	1
Youth career
2009–2013	Bristol Rovers
2013–2014	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2021	Arsenal	0	(0)
2015	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	4	(0)
2017	→ Luton Town (loan)	11	(0)
2018–2019	→ Plymouth Argyle (loan)	34	(0)
2021–2022	Hibernian	35	(0)
2022–2023	Luton Town	0	(0)
2023	→ Portsmouth (loan)	21	(0)
2024	Portsmouth	0	(0)
2024–	Colchester United	9	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:52, 2 October 2024 (UTC)

Matthew Ryan Macey (born 9 September 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League Two club Colchester United.

Career

Early career

Macey started to play youth football for Avon Arsenal Comets. In 2007, he applied but was rejected from Bristol Rovers' Centre of Excellence. ^[4] Macey was also invited to train with Cardiff City but felt the travel commitment was too much. He then later went on to represent the youth teams of Bath City and Yate Town before Bristol Rovers signed him in 2009 before signing him as a full-time scholar in 2011. ^[4] He first appeared in the Bristol Rovers squad for their League Two fixture against Torquay United in March 2012 but never made a first-team appearance for Bristol Rovers. He was however a part of their under-18 double-winning team. ^[4] Macey was offered a professional contract at the end of the second year of his scholarship in the summer of 2013. ^[5]

Arsenal and loan spells

On 23 October 2013, Macey signed for Arsenal after a trial with them. ^[6] Arsenal beat off competition from Everton and a number of Championship clubs to sign Macey from Bristol Rovers. ^[7] Due to his age, Arsenal also reportedly paid Bristol Rovers £100,000 in compensation for Macey after he had rejected an offer of a new contract at Bristol Rovers. ^[8] In his first season at Arsenal, he was suggested as an immediate replacement for Łukasz Fabiański. ^[9] In 2014, Macey was chosen to travel with Arsenal's first-team to a pre-season training camp in Austria and was later selected as a substitute for Arsenal's Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion. ^[10]

On 8 January 2015, Macey signed for League Two club Accrington Stanley on a one-month loan. ^[11] He made his Football League debut in a 3–0 defeat away to Tranmere Rovers on 17 January. ^[12] Macey made his final appearance for Accrington in a 5–1 home defeat to Northampton Town on 31 January, and finished the loan with four appearances. ^[13]

On 31 January 2017, Macey joined League Two club Luton Town on loan until the end of 2016–17. ^[14] He debuted on 7 February in an EFL Trophy quarter-final tie against Yeovil Town, which Luton won 5–2. ^[15] Macey went on to make his league debut four days later in a 2–1 win at home to Crawley Town. ^[16] Macey was recalled by Arsenal on 5 April to provide cover for first-choice goalkeeper Petr Čech and second-choice goalkeeper David Ospina who were sidelined with a groin strain and an abdominal injury respectively, ^[17] having made 13 appearances for Luton. ^[18]

Macey made his debut for Arsenal on 24 October 2017 against Norwich City in the EFL Cup fourth round, with the match finishing a 2–1 victory after extra time. ^[19] He made his European debut in the UEFA Europa League group stage nine days later, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 home draw against Red Star Belgrade. ^[20] Macey signed a new contract of undisclosed length with Arsenal on 6 December. ^[21]

Macey joined League One club Plymouth Argyle on 30 July 2018 on a season-long loan to replace the injured Harry Burgoyne. ^[22] He made his debut in a 2–1 away defeat to Walsall five days later on the opening day of 2018–19. ^[23] Macey was an ever-present in the team until he suffered a dead leg in a 2–1 defeat away to AFC Wimbledon on 26 December, and was deputised by Kyle Letheren in his absence. ^[24]

Macey won the FA Cup by merit of being part of the Arsenal squad for the final against Chelsea on 1 August 2020. ^[25]

Hibernian

On 8 January 2021, Macey left Arsenal to join Scottish club Hibernian until the end of the season. ^{[26] [27]} On 11 January, he made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. ^[28] Macey played mainly in Scottish Cup matches for Hibernian during the rest of the season, and in May 2021 he signed a two-year contract with the club. ^[29] He saved a penalty in the 2021 Scottish Cup Final, which Hibs lost 1–0 to St Johnstone. ^[30]

Luton Town

On 22 June 2022, Macey returned to Championship club Luton Town on a permanent basis, for an undisclosed fee. ^[31]

On 2 September 2023, Macey's departure from Luton Town was announced following the mutual termination of his contract. ^[32]

Loan to Portsmouth

On 20 January 2023, Portsmouth announced the signing of Macey on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[33]

Portsmouth

On 12 January 2024, Macey returned to League One leaders Portsmouth on a permanent basis, signing a contract until the end of the season. ^[34] On 1 May 2024, Portsmouth said the player would be released in the summer when his contract expired. ^[35]

Colchester United

On 31 May 2024, Macey agreed to join League Two side Colchester United on a two-year deal. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 October 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2014–15 [13]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015–16 [37]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17 [18]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18 [38]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2	0
	2018–19 [39]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20 [40]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21 [41]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2014–15 [13]	League Two	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Luton Town (loan)	2016–17 [18]	League Two	11	0	—		—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	13	0
Plymouth Argyle (loan)	2018–19 [39]	League One	34	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	38	0
Hibernian	2020–21 [41]	Scottish Premiership	3	0	5	0	0	0	—		8	0
	2021–22 [42]	Scottish Premiership	32	0	4	0	4	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	44	0
	Total		84	0	11	0	6	0	6	0	107	0
Luton Town	2022–23 [43]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Portsmouth (loan)	2022–23 [43]	League One	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
Portsmouth	2023–24 [44]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Colchester United	2024–25 [45]	League Two	9	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	11	0
Career total			114	0	11	0	10	0	7	0	141	0

1. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy
3. Appearances in the UEFA Conference League

Honours

Arsenal

• FA Cup: 2019–20 ^[46]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. "Matt Macey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
3. "Matt Macey". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
4. Nash, Mathew (10 October 2013). "Five facts about Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Macey". HITC.
5. "Rovers announce retained list". Bristol Rovers F.C. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
6. "Matt Macey joins Arsenal". Bristol Rovers F.C. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
7. Sanderson, Jamie (23 October 2013). "Arsenal beat Everton to sign goalkeeper Matt Macey from Bristol Rovers". Metro. London. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
8. Abbott, Harry (1 November 2013). "Keeper Matt Macey admits signing for Premier Division Arsenal was 'quite a shock'". Bath Chronicle. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015.
9. Doe, Lewis (30 April 2014). "How Matt Macey can benefit from Lukasz Fabianski's pending exit". HITC. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
10. "Accrington Stanley complete loan deal for Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Macey". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
11. "Matt Macey: Arsenal keeper joins Accrington Stanley on loan". BBC Sport. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
12. "Match analysis: Tranmere 3 Accrington Stanley 0". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
13. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
14. "Luton Town: Matt Macey, Ollie Palmer & Stuart Moore join League Two club". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
15. Simmonds, Mike (7 February 2017). "Rampant Vassell fires five-star Hatters into semi-final". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
16. Simmonds, Mike (11 February 2017). "Hylton at the double as Hatters hit back to beat Red Devils". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
17. Simmonds, Mike (5 April 2017). "Gunners recall keeper Macey from Luton". Luton Today. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
18. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
19. Emons, Michael (24 October 2017). "Arsenal 2–1 Norwich City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
20. Hafez, Shamoon (2 November 2017). "Arsenal 0–0 Red Star Belgrade". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
21. Dale, James (6 December 2017). "Eddie Nketiah signs long-term Arsenal deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
22. Errington, Chris (30 July 2018). "Plymouth Argyle sign Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Macey on season-long loan". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
23. "Walsall 2–1 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
24. Errington, Chris (31 December 2018). "Kyle Letheren to continue as Plymouth Argyle's goalkeeper against Oxford United". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
25. "FA Cup final 2020: Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea – Aubameyang double secures victory". BBC Sport. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
26. "Matt Macey is a Hibee". www.hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
27. "Matt Macey joins Hibernian". www.arsenal.com. Arsenal FC. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
28. "Celtic 1–1 Hibernian". Hibernian FC. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
29. Fowler, Craig (6 May 2021). "Hibs reach agreement with goalkeeper Matt Macey over new contract". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
30. Lindsay, Clive (22 May 2021). "St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
31. "Matt Macey returns to Luton Town!". lutowntown.co.uk. Luton Town FC. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
32. "Matt Macey departs". www.lutontown.co.uk. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
33. "Macey Arrives On Loan". Portsmouth F.C. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
34. "Macey Makes Pompey Return". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
35. "Pompey Retained List: Summer 2024". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
36. "Matt Macey Is Our First Summer Signing!". www.cu-fc.com. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
37. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
38. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
39. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
40. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
41. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
42. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
43. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
44. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
45. "Games played by Matt Macey in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
46. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

External links

• Matt Macey at Soccerbase