Morning.
We spoke a bit about Kieran Tierney on the Arsecast Additional this week, after he made what might be his remaining house look within the 1-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday. Mikel Arteta just isn’t often a person who makes selections based mostly on sentiment, however each Tierney and Jorginho – who can even go away this summer season – got just a few remaining minutes on house turf earlier than their summer season departures.
There was a second after he got here on when Gabriel Martinelli was despatched scampering into their half, and Tierney charged by way of to assist him. I may see it in my thoughts’s eye, the ball throughout, and on his proper foot, the Scottish worldwide saying goodbye to the Arsenal followers with one final aim. Sadly, the motion was good, he was in the appropriate place, however Martinelli couldn’t fairly ship the cross.
He might properly nonetheless be concerned on Sunday once we face Southampton, however that was the final likelihood to do it at house. His return to Celtic is all organized, he’ll be going house to a membership he loves, and I believe he’ll achieve this with real affection and no small tinge of remorse amongst Arsenal followers about how his time at this membership performed out.
When he arrived on deadline day in August 2019 (which was in early August as a result of they’d modified it so all the things needed to be performed earlier than the season began), I wrote of his arrival:
He’s a 22 yr outdated left again who, all going properly, might be our mainstay in that place for years to come back. He’s fast, sturdy, defends properly, assaults properly, and makes us higher in a key space of the pitch. There’s so much to love about this type of signing, one other one which is a part of decreasing the typical age and our rebuilding for the long run.
It had been a deal that was on the playing cards all summer season lengthy, so maybe we must always have seen some warning indicators in regards to the resolution makers on the time that it didn’t occur till the final minute, however in the end it was a stable signing on paper. Nacho Monreal wasn’t getting any youthful, and Sead Kolasinac wasn’t in any respect suited to left-back. With hindsight the choice to let Monreal go away for Actual Sociedad a few weeks later wasn’t a terrific one, however Tierney was a nod to the long run.
There was a right away rapport between him and the followers. The shortage of frills was endearing, a participant carrying his boots in a Tesco buying bag was one thing the ‘widespread man’ may hook up with, reasonably than the grotesque £6,000 backpack favoured by darts loving, carvery-dominating gadflies like James Maddison. However past that you may see instantly Tierney was an actual skilled. His perspective and dedication had been simply as straightforward to connect with, notably at a time once we had too many gamers on the membership whose major focus was themselves reasonably than the crew.
Though he was signed as a left-back, it’s straightforward to neglect he performed quite a bit because the left-sided centre-half in a again three, together with the 2020 FA Cup remaining wherein we beat Chelsea. He had David Luiz one facet of him, a midfielder in Ainsley Maitland-Niles the opposite as his wing-back. That FA Cup win was a collective effort, with a smattering of particular person brilliance (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe particularly that day), however the penalty we gained to attract stage got here from a Tierney ball excessive which led to Cesar Azpilicueta making a foul and, I believe, getting injured within the course of.
Talking of injured, the unlucky through-line for Tierney’s time at Arsenal has been the accidents. He arrived that August however didn’t make his debut till September, after which after bedding in picked up a critical shoulder harm, dislocating it thrice in a single sport, and that meant surgical procedure in December. Ordinarily that might have been a 3 month absence, however the occasions in early 2020 once we had been confronted with a worldwide pandemic meant he didn’t play once more till June when soccer began once more.
6 months out of the sport. And afterwards, his time was blighted by issues that got here with a frequency that meant it turned tough to depend on his availability. You possibly can all the time depend on him to present you 100% when he was match, however that uncertainty performed a component in how his Arsenal profession performed out.
Kieran Tierney harm historical past
Personally, I can’t join with the anger individuals really feel in direction of gamers who get injured. It can’t be a private affront to you that an individual is topic to the human situation and the inherent frailties of the physique. I can take challenge if, for instance, a participant is unavailable as a result of their way of life, a scarcity of professionalism, or simply plain stupidity is the basis trigger, however when there’s somebody who simply needs to get on the pitch and do their finest for Arsenal however they will’t, properly … I’ve sympathy for that.
The opposite factor to think about is that we speak so much about match health, rhythm, type, and the way you want these issues to carry out at your finest. For those who’re all the time taking part in catch-up with the previous it turns into very exhausting to ship what you’re able to as a participant. In some methods it prevents additional improvement as you become older and extra skilled, and picture how irritating it should be to undergo that point and time once more. You assume you’re there, after which bang, one other harm. Don’t come at me with the footballers wages nonsense right here both. Sure, they’re properly paid, however when all you wish to do is play and you’ll’t – regardless of your finest efforts – it’s powerful going for them.
There’s additionally the tactical facet of how the crew has developed underneath Mikel Arteta and whereas each participant has their strengths and weaknesses, it turned obvious that Tierney wasn’t actually suited to that ‘inverted’ position the supervisor carried out. There’s no disgrace in that, by the way in which. It’s a tough job to marshal your defensive space, after which function in midfield the place that you must be a bit extra ‘two-way’. Defenders play, for essentially the most half, with the sport in entrance of them, midfield is way more difficult.
The large harm he suffered taking part in for Scotland on the Euros final summer season most likely prolonged his spell at Arsenal by a yr. At any time when he’s been known as upon this season, he’s delivered the form of trustworthy performances we all know he’s able to, and the very fact he was used greater than as soon as as a part of a front-three (even late in video games) was an illustration of how this squad was impacted by harm and lack of ahead choices this season.
I’d like to see a remaining look from him on Sunday, whether or not he scores a aim or not, and when the time comes for his official departure and a return ‘house’, he’ll go along with affection and appreciation. Not essentially for what we received, however for what we unquestionably knew he wished to present.
Thanks KT.
