The Scotland international scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s 4-0 win at West Brom
Mikel Arteta has backed Kieran Tierney to eventually become Arsenal’s captain.
The Scotland international has been a fixture in north London since his move from Celtic in 2019 and enjoyed again on Saturday with a 4-0 win at West Brom.
Tierney opened the scoring at the Hawthorns with an incredible individual goal and has been a consistency model this season while others have struggled around it.
Many consider him the perfect candidate to one day take up arms at Arsenal and Arteta agrees that his virtues are to become a captain.
“I think he can be captain of Arsenal because every member of staff and every player has respect and esteem,” said the Gunners’ boss. “It’s just the way it is. It does it in a natural way.
“He’s a very shy boy too but he represents all of us in the club; all the values we want to incorporate and they are in the DNA in this club. “
Tierney is quietly silent off the pitch and has admitted he was initially struggling to make the transition to life in London after leaving the Celtic boys club.
But on the pitch he’s as vocal as they come and has certainly led by this season’s example with his performances, as he continues.
“From the moment I joined the club I have seen a very talented player with the perfect vision and enthusiasm,” said Arteta.
“I am delighted to be working with him and I am so happy with the way he has achieved [against West Brom] and everything he put in to be better every day towards the team, towards the club.
“It simply came to our notice then. We tried to help him. It was a challenge for him to leave his house because we were all trying to help him. ”
Arteta said: “He is shy and so humble. He came here and took a while. 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 talks he says the right thing. And it’s just what we’re looking for and I’m so excited to have it in the team.
“It can still develop but it is a real threat in attack and really in defense.”