Kieran Tierney remains on the radar of Newcastle United after losing his first-team place to Oleksandr Zinchenko at the Emirates.
The Scotsman was one of the best left-backs in England initially, but the arrival of Zinchenko changed all that.
Tierney rarely gets game time now and has been tipped to find a new home where he can play more.
The left-back is one of the players Mikel Arteta still wants in his squad, but the key decision on his future will likely come down to the player.
Newcastle remains keen, but journalist Ben Jacobs suggest they will only move for the former Celtic man if they get encouragement from him.
He tells Give Me Sport:
“Arsenal have to understand whether Tierney is happy with his diminished game-time and prepared to stay at the club or, alternatively, would like to go somewhere where he might be a starting left-back.
“Until the player decides, Newcastle won’t move in any kind of concrete sense. But there’s also a possibility that Tierney is available in the market.
“I would expect Newcastle to move for a left-back because there’s a starting spot potentially available even though Dan Burn is liked and popular at the football club.”
The possible move is still up in the air as Tierney himself said yesterday: “It’s not really up to me. I’ve not had any discussions with the manager and I’m just working hard every day and trying to do as well as I can.
“I didn’t miss a single game because of injury last season. I was available for every match and always ready when called upon.
“I think everyone would agree that I never give less than 100 percent, whether I’m playing or not. You can’t play every single game every year and I don’t expect that.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Tierney is an amazing player who still has so much to offer to us as a club, but we also know that, at some point, he will want more game time.
If he keeps losing the battle for a starting place to Zinchenko, the defender could ask to leave the club.
Pivot this…inverted that….bla bla bla
We need a real LB and Zinchenko is not it! As for Tierney himself I wish him well and to get the game time he deserves if he leaves.
Tierney was one of the best performers when he came on in the Utd game. He defended well, got forward in good positions, and did well in midfield in inverted role.
Zinchenko should not be automatic next year, and hope Tierney gets an honest chance.
I didn’t see the game, but I’ve noticed Tierney moving into CM in some previous games, and I do think he’s perfectly capable of doing a good job in that role. I think he’s been training for it – maybe arteta didn’t trust him to play that way last season because it was new to him, but hopefully he’ll be given more chances this season.
Football has moved on from when I was watching regularly in the 70’s and 80’s…inverted this, inverted that. Football is a simple game, I was always thought you played your best players and Tierney is our best left back at the club and in my mind should play.
I don’t think it’s right to copy others, but one thing guardiola has shown over the years is that complex systems, properly implemented, can be highly successful.
It makes sense – if you just pick your best players in a simple playing system, it’s easy to figure out – our opponents don’t need “better” players if they can devise a more effective system.
Arsenal should let Tierney remain in the team because of injury I’m not praying for injury but we should still have an a extra player if we want to win to the EPL Man City have a extra players that’s why they what they are I don’t pray for bukayo saka to get injury if he gets injury now we don’t have any replacement for him so I think Tierney should remain in the team because he is a good left back
I really like his demeanour never heard of him making all ridiculous demands. Honestly, I prefer him mostly because the guy can defend and when runs on the line to release those vicious crossings with his left foot in the box for anyone to tap into or header.
I have a strong suspicion that Arteta has decided to let Tierney leave. Against United, Arteta started Tomiyasu. Against the MLS All-Stars , he started Kiwior. Even when Zinchenko was injured towards the end of the season, Arteta seemed to favor Kiwior
Looks to me like Arteta’s trying to get a deputy for Zinchenko between Tommy and Kiwior. If he’s convinced by any of them, Tierney will be on his way.
The club’s hierarchy may also be thinking that Tierney is one of two dispensable players (the other being Balogun of course) whose transfer can contribute significantly to balancing the books and, maybe fund new additions.
Take note – he didn’t say he wanted to stay and fight for his position. This is what KT is really saying: just want to get the fuch out of here. Getting tired of sitting on the bench behind the blond dude who can’t defend.
Wishing you all the best KT. See you at the games against Newcastle.
Agree with the majority of posters above. Kieran Tierney is still one of the best left backs in the EPL in the opinion of most people, except the one that counts, Mikel Arteta.
Continue selecting Zinchenko at left back over Tierney and Arsenal will continue to leak goals.