MIKEL ARTETA has claimed that former Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney’s return to the first team at Arsenal will be special. The 22-year-old left his boyhood club in the summer of 2019 but has made just eight starts since moving to London.
Speaking in an adidas London interview on Instagram with Ian Wright, the pair discussed Tierney. Tierney is yet to play under Arteta since a shoulder injury ended his season but despite this, the Spaniard sees it as part of his development.
“I’m really looking forward to working with him and giving him the opportunity to play.
“His attitude, his commitment, his will; it’s incredible. I think he’s going to bring something special to us. It’s a shame, but it’s part of his development.
“In your career you go through these moments and I challenged Kieran to say, ‘Kieran, how are you going to react to that?
“You cannot feel sorry for yourself that this happened. Okay, the level of expectation now is a bit higher, you have to deal with it.
“You are playing with a top club, top expectation… deal with it.
“You have everything to be successful here, you have the best possible attitude that I know from a player, go and lead your profession and enjoy it and that’s it.”
Tierney left Celtic for £25m last summer but has failed to hit the heights that he reached under the Scottish Champions. Celtic have failed to nail down a first choice left back since Tierney left, Greg Taylor, Boli Bolingoli and Jonny Hayes have all held the position at some point over the last season but none have made it their own.
Hopefully Tierney will be able to return to football with a bang and showcase the talents of the Celtic academy.
