Arsenal legend Martin Keown heaped praise on Kieran Tierney and feels that the Scottish international will soon be a regular starter under Unai Emery.
The 22-year-old joined the Gunners from Celtic this summer for a transfer fee reported to be £25 million by BBC. He missed the start of the season due to a hernia operation he underwent a few months.
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Tierney made his Arsenal debut in their Carabao Cup clash against Nottingham Forest before being omitted from Emery’s squad against Manchester United. The Scottish international started in the Europa League clash against Standard Liege midweek and produced an outstanding performance. He provided an assist as the Gunners thrashed the Belgian club 4-0.
Keown was all praise for the 22-year-old and said that he oozes quality. As quoted by Express, the Arsenal legend told BT Sport: “Well there’s absolutely no doubt about that [Tierney will be starting regularly soon]. I was always told as a young player when you come in you have to make your mark. There’s no time to lose and he made really good use of that opportunity [against Standard]. Bursting down that left-hand side, look how high up the pitch he is.
“He’s saying ‘give it to me and I’ll deliver’ and he puts that ball in the box time and time again. Really positive in everything he does, he wants to go at people. The quality is there, he’s oozing quality and [Sead] Kolasinac is under pressure, there’s no doubt about it.
“He kept on doing it in the second half, he keeps wanting to get forward, looked a little bit tired late on. I was really pleased for him, he looks as if he’s a wonderful signing, £25m, and he can be really happy with his night’s work.”
Judging by his performance against Standard Liege, Tierney seems a better option at left-back than Kolasinac. He seemed sound defensively and often made runs down the left flank.
Provided he maintains a good run of form, the 22-year-old should be a regular under Unai Emery as the season progresses. The Scottish international should in Arsenal’s fixture against Bournemouth tomorrow.
