“He will go down as a legend” – Arsenal star tipped to be one of the club’s best ever

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Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney is being backed to become one of the club’s all-time greats by former Premier League ace James McFadden.

The Gunners signed Tierney from Celtic two years ago after he caught the eye in his time in his native Scotland, and he’s undoubtedly made a hugely positive impact at the Emirates Stadium.

The 24-year-old surely has his best years ahead of him and will also be a player to watch out for with Scotland at Euro 2020 this summer.

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Former Scotland international McFadden, who also played alongside Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta at Everton, is hugely excited about Tierney and believes he’s destined to go down as a legend at Arsenal.

McFadden, speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at the launch of their new European Championships 5-a-side Bet, said: “Kieran Tierney, without a doubt, one-hundred per cent fits the bill of the kind of player and character Arsenal need around the place. If you look at his all-round attitude, his desire in training, his commitment. He’s a fantastic player, but his attitude is what sets him apart. He does everything to the absolute maximum.

“Depending on how long he stays there, there’s no doubt about it; he will go down as one of Arsenal’s greatest left-backs ever. I look back at Ashley Cole and Nigel Winterburn, and I put Kieran Tierney right up there. He’s made such a big impact and he’s still so young. He’s a top, top player.

“He was linked with Arsenal a year or so before he actually joined, and there was talk of a £15m move. People were laughing at me when I said that he was worth more than that. That was an absolute bargain. And then when he went for £25m, I said the same thing.

“If they were to go and sell him now, they’d double their money, absolutely no problem. Anybody in world football that needs a left-back, Kieran Tierney is the man. He’s just a top player, and his humility is what sets him apart.

“If he stays at Arsenal for the foreseeable future, he will go down as a legend; I have absolutely no doubt about that.”

Interestingly, McFadden also spoke about Arteta and explains that he never really thought the Spaniard looked like an obvious candidate to become a manager once his playing career came to an end.

He said: “I didn’t see Mikel Arteta ever stepping into management, to be honest. Not because I didn’t think he’d be good enough, I just never looked at him and thought ‘you’re a potential manager’. But what he is, is a fantastic professional; an unbelievably talented footballer and a good guy.

“His start at Arsenal was great, he won a couple of trophies, then he had a tough couple of months earlier on in the season but the team have been on a good run of form since Christmas.”

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