As Arsenal’s vice-captain, Mikel Arteta knows better than most of the qualities required for the role and in Kieran Tierney, he believes he has identified the perfect candidate for the time future.
Tierney struggled when he first moved to the Gunners from Celtic for £ 24million in the summer of 2019, making just 11 appearances before the spring of 2020 was locked in as he struggled to make the transition to a new life. while also battling hip and shoulder injuries.
But the 23-year-old has made significant progress since then and after a brilliant performance in Saturday’s comfortable victory over West Bromwich Albion, Arteta revealed that Tierney is expected to acquire a suit that would have Frank McLintock, Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, as well as Arteta himself from 2014-16.
Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney scored the first goal in the 4-0 rhythm of West Bromwich Albion
Kieran Tierney got a stunner v West Brom
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang currently has the job, but at 31, he is eight years older than Tierney, leaving the Scot in an excellent position to step in when Aubameyang’s time with Arsenal comes. to the end.
‘He can be the captain of Arsenal because he has respect and dignity for every employee and every player,’ said Arteta. ‘He does things in a natural way. He is a very shy boy but he represents all the values we want to put in and they are in the DNA of this club.
‘He’s so humble. He came to Arsenal and took a while to change. He was badly injured and was away from home but is a natural leader. You can see how he behaves on the pitch and when he speaks, he says the right things. That’s exactly what we’re looking for and I’m so excited to have it in the team. ‘
With snow falling at the Hawthorns and temperatures near freezing, Tierney caught the eye by skipping the rows and warming up in shorts and a T-shirt.
It was the same stuff as his display, with an incredibly good opening goal, when Tierney cut in from the left flank, moved into the penalty area and shot into the far corner with his foot. weakest right.
He has been ruled out with injuries but has been named as the Gunners’ future captain by captain Mikel Arteta
It gave Arsenal the perfect platform for victory, as Bukayo Saka doubled the lead by completing a brilliant move that deserved Arsene Wenger ‘s Invincibles, and Alexandre Lacazette hit twice in the second half.
Arteta was under heavy scrutiny ahead of the meeting with Chelsea on Boxing Day but the Gunners took that game 3-1 and if they beat Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on January 14, he will be four Premier League winners in a row.
It’s too early to say that their problems are behind them, but Arteta’s belief in young players is starting to pay off. As well as Tierney, Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were impressive and Pablo Mari was solid at the back.
Tierney said: ‘It’s starting to come together. We work consistently hard and haven’t changed anything over the last three games. We want to pick winners and points and climb the board, and we do that. ‘
Arteta (right) saw his side win their third Premier League game in a row after a run of poor form
If the picture grows lighter for Arsenal, it remains a grim concern for West Brom. Sam Allardyce’s tenure has one draw – the 1-1 draw at Liverpool on 27 December.
In addition, Albion has conceded 12 unanswered goals in home games against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Arsenal. They finish Christmas time six points from safety.
Allardyce desperately needs consolidation in defense, midfield and attack, especially with Albion boss expecting forward Karlan Grant to be out of action for at least five weeks with a broken bone in his leg .
But Allardyce’s efforts to improve his squad have already gone through difficulties. Big money is unlikely to be available and to complicate matters, Brexit has made it more difficult to sign EU players.
The UK’s exit from the EU on 31 December means clubs can no longer sign European players under EU rules relating to free work transfers.
These players now need support from a governing body to qualify, with a range of criteria including international caps and the player’s domestic league strength used to make a decision.
During his time at Sunderland and Crystal Palace, Allardyce was able to make key signings such as Lamine Kone and Luka Milivojevic to help him lead those clubs to safety.
Allardyce said: ‘I’ve already found three players who would be able to come here and they don’t have a license. It’s a shame.
‘I won’t name the players but they would have been a great help. Due to the new situation regarding the permits they were unable to come to this country so I have to look at that everywhere I can now and say ‘can it be worthy? ‘.
‘We can sign one loan in this country and two worldwide, but this change related to the Brexit deal is making life difficult for the two loans around the world that are available to us. ‘