Kieran Tierney’s attitude can make a big difference to this Arsenal team
Kieran Tierney announced his return to training with Arsenal by nutmegging Shkodran Mustafi. It was a light-hearted moment to mark the Scotsman’s recovery from a hip problem, but his new team-mates will discover pretty quickly that the summer signing from Celtic can cause a stir on the training ground in other ways too. Tierney is full on.
Ronny Deila, the Norwegian coach who gave him his professional debut, recently recalled how senior professionals would give the youngster a wide berth during sessions because of his aggressive approach. Scott Brown, his captain at Celtic, was never one of those but when the notorious midfielder says Tierney would tackle his own granny, it speaks volumes.
Kris Commons was another team-mate who witnessed his development during those first forays into senior football and his memories of Tierney tally with those of Deila and Brown. He acknowledges the talent that saw Arsenal pay £25m for him in the summer, of course. But it was Tierney’s passion for the game that really stood out right from the start.
„He’d probably have played for free,“ Commons tells Sky Sports. „He had that mentality. His feet were on the ground. He was never big-headed about being part of the first-team squad, just very enthusiastic. You just had this real feeling about how he played the game. He was like a child who just loved being out on the field doing what he was doing.“
Tierney’s intensity during training has actually caused more issues for himself than his team-mates. At 22, he has already suffered a number of injuries – and not many of them have been the muscle problems that often affect injury-prone players. Instead, they have been a direct consequence of his characteristically robust approach to the game.
„His enthusiasm has got him into a few pickles, certainly in terms of breaking his leg,“ says Commons. „There was one training session, he broke it pretty badly indoors on the artificial turf. I was there. He broke his ankle just by going in for a tackle and rolling it. Then I remember a training session in the winter outside and he went in again. It was very similar.
„Even though he had broken his leg before, it didn’t faze him. You hear about players who have had long-term injuries and they are a bit apprehensive. They are always a bit nervous when throwing themselves into tackles but it didn’t affect him. He just threw himself in and rolled his ankle again. He literally just looked up and said, ‘I think I’ve done it again’.“
Tierney approached that injury setback with the same upbeat attitude and was able to return to the team every bit as aggressive as he had been before. „He did the rehab and then he came back with the same energy, enthusiasm and will to win,“ adds Commons. „It’s that never-say-die attitude and it’s probably the most important quality to have.“
It is, of course, precisely the quality that this Arsenal team is frequently accused of lacking. There was the capitulation at Watford and the wobble against Aston Villa. Tierney cannot address all of the issues alone. The centre-back solution will have to come from elsewhere. But he is a more natural full-back than Sead Kolasinac and that will surely help Unai Emery.
Although he cannot match Kolasinac for size, he is stronger than he once was. „He is very imposing now,“ says Commons. „You can see that with his muscle mass on his thighs and his upper body as well.“ Crucially, he is a more skilled defender too. „I have always thought that the defensive side of his game is the strongest part. I think he reads the game well.“
There will be an obligation for Tierney to attack at Arsenal. If Emery opts for a diamond formation then the onus will be on the full-backs to provide the width. But while that may be problematic given the lack of cover currently being provided by the midfield, the prospect of Tierney and Hector Bellerin pushing forward is still an exciting one.
„Whenever I played with Kieran he was always that outlet on the left-hand side who gave the team that natural width because he got forward so well,“ says Commons. „At times, he was an out-and-out winger for us because we did get our width from the full-backs. He can get across the pitch at pace and in the final third he has good delivery.
„I have no doubt that he will come into the team and make a huge impact. It’s his enthusiasm and his professionalism. I think he will bring a lot. Arsenal have had a weakness defensively for a long time. I know what KT can bring and he can go straight into that team.“
Tierney’s belated Arsenal debut cannot come soon enough.
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.
