Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney is getting a lot of buzzes lately in large part because of Arsenal expressing heavy interest in the 22-year-old with talks of a surefire move underway. Arsenal has been no stranger to picking up young talent over the years. It was one of the things championed by Arsene Wenger, their most iconic manager. Currently, Unai Emery has fit into the role of manager for the Gunners and he will be looking to bring back the Henry-Bergkamp and Wenger glory days. With Nicolas Pepe’s signing looking positive, Arsenal is looking to improve it’s squad even further by signing the Scotsman. Will it pan out?
Talent of Display:
Tierney is a very strong left-back. There were multiple times when he executed darting Bale-Esque runs on the left and played in a strong pass towards the forwards. His dribbling is very strong and clinical, comprising of clever and reflexively quick lane changes and that will surely come in handy over at Arsenal. He has great offensive awareness producing some great through balls and difficult passes as well as some bullet-like shots from long distance. A lot of people complain about seemingly strong left-backs being weak at defending getting away with it because they are offensively strong. That is not the case with Kieran Tierney. He has a strong awareness when it comes to defence which he often proved both in the Scottish League and the UEFA Europa League. He has strong sweeping capabilities, often tackling an opposition player while the CB’s provide cover, thwarting the entire attack. He is equally strong when it comes to interceptions cleverly picking out weaker and more available passes and pouncing on the opportunity.
Statistics:
Tierney does have strong numbers to back up the demand. In the UEFA Europa League, he scored 1 goal in 6 appearances. He averaged 1.7 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 2.5 clearances over the course of Celtic’s UEL run. On the offensive end, he managed 1.2 dribbles and 1.7 key passes. In the Scottish Premiership, he managed 5 clever assists in 20 games despite not playing as a midfielder or a position more in line with creating direct offensive contributions. He also won the Scottish Premiership with Celtic. He has seen a staggering number of decorations with Celtic with 5 Scottish Premierships and having played 97 League games with them, it’s hard to deny that he wasn’t influential.
Factoring in at Arsenal:
While Arsenal did have some moments of greatness, especially with Aubameyang and Lacazette in the front, they still ended up in the fifth position, which was the same in the final season with Wenger. Despite some great individual performances, it’s clear that Unai Emery needs to sign and develop some good players and make some drastic changes, especially considering they won only 1 of their last 5 PL games. With Tierney in the mix, it seems like Unai Emery is taking some initiative to improve Arsenal’s standing next season. While recapitulating Arsenal’s peak with players like Henry and Bergkamp are a bit of a stretch, they will still be looking to fare well in the Europa League and to attain a spot a Champions’ League spot. With Tierney at LB, it could increase Arsenal’s sense of aggression on the football field. He had a strong 2018-19 season and has proven to be very effective on the left flank both on offense and defense. This will enable him to link up with players like Ozil on the CAM position and both Aubameyang and Lacazette. He could be great defensively and go in for the charge while players like Sokratis hold the fort. His strength for dribbling and those long darting runs could prove to be a vital asset for the Gunners and you can easily imagine him doing it and laying in a critical pass towards the false 9 position to damage the opponents. The figure being thrown around at the moment is £25 million and considering that he’s young and capable, this looks to be a bargain. Surely a lot of Arsenal fans expect some great things from the 22-year-old and hopefully, he will deliver.
