It is not often that a title decider in England gains our attention behind passing interest; however, Arsenal’s trip to Manchester City posed a question as to whether Kieran Tierney would feature in the game at the Etihad. The 25-year-old had been tipped to start the game but his failure to do so means that the player may see his time playing for Mikel Arteta coming to an end.
Kevin De Bruyne scored twice along with goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland to put Pep Guardiola’s team in pole position to retain their title.
Oleksandr Zinchenko started the game but City ran riot as Arsenal conceded four goals in the title showdown in Manchester. The arrival of Zinchenko had pushed Tierney down the pecking order at Arsenal. Even when the Ukrainian was unavailable, Tomiyasu was used as left back. This has limited Tierney’s opportunities this season and a cursory glance at Twitter tonight suggests that fans are beginning to realise the importance that he may have to the team.
Tierney will likely have been disappointed as he sat on the bench for the humbling at the hands of their title rivals, which will likely tip the title back towards Pep’s side. Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United are expected to mount a bid to sign the Scotland Internationalist with Dan Burn’s stand-in efforts this season likely to see another option signed in the summer.
Aston Villa have also been linked with Tierney as the manager that signed him – Unai Emery – is now the manager at Villa Park. Celtic command a sell-on fee should Tierney move on after the £25m move in 2019. The defender made over 250 appearances for Celtic and the Scottish Champions will be alerted to developments in his future plans.
