Kieran Tierney didn’t realise until after the match but his appearance in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven saw him become the club’s latest centurion.
Hitting the appearance milestone has probably taken the Scotland international longer than he might have expected but it’s no mean feat all the same.
“I’m very proud,” he told Arsenal.com last night.
“I never knew going into the game as well, it was after the game a few people told me and I had a few texts so yeah it’s a great achievement, I’m very proud and I’m grateful for the chances I’m getting.
“I’ve been through a lot, the world’s been through a lot since the first one, but it’s good, I’m enjoying it.”
When Tierney arrived from Celtic in the summer of 2019 he was still working his way back from groin surgery. He finally managed a run of games between October and December – just as Unai Emery’s world crumbled – but then dislocated his shoulder and was sidelined until football’s mid-Covid resumption in June the following year.
Since then, excellent form has been pockmarked by further injuries – notably to his knee and ankle – forcing Arteta to twice enter the transfer market for backup, first signing Nuno Tavares and then Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Tierney saw off the challenge of the young Portuguese last season but it’s questionable whether he’s now a first name on the team sheet. In some respects, not burdening him with all the left-back minutes could work out for the best over the course of a long season.
While he said he was left gutted by the tactical decision to play Takehiro Tomiyasu against Liverpool – a selection that Arteta repeated at Leeds – he’s been keeping things ticking over in Europe and is a reliable option when we need to sure up the defence in the league.
Last night, he completed 90 minutes for the fourth time this season. By and large, he was pleased with the way the game went.
“I think we could have had two or three goals and made it a lot more comfortable for us in the last five minutes but it was a composed performance from us as well.
“We never panicked when we didn’t score, and we saw it out well and it was comfortable in the end.
“We’d like to score more goals, but if you keep it tight at the back, you know somebody in this team is going to take a chance.
“Two games left, we want to make sure we’re top of the group as well, keep winning games, keep building momentum and so far so good.”
TOTAL APPEARANCES FOR ARSENAL (22/23 squad)
Xhaka – 264
Elneny – 148
Saka / Holding – 145
Nketiah – 106
Tierney – 100
Martinelli – 98
Smith Rowe – 86
Gabriel M – 83
Odegaard – 73
Partey – 68
Cedric – 55
Nelson – 51
White – 50
Ramsdale – 47
Tomiyasu – 35
Lokonga – 34
Jesus – 13
Saliba – 11
Vieira – 9
Zinchenko – 6
Turner – 4
Marquinhos – 4
Love him, he is a great player but also love the competition in the squad and the positive attitudes. Hope that continues.
He’s only 25 with his best years in front of him, hope he’s around for a long time.
Damn, since when does Eddie have 106 appearances!
I guess he’s been coming off the bench for a while and lots of cup games. But still, definitely a surprise haha
Surprises all up and down that list! Elneny at 148 despite basically never being first choice, Saka and Holding tied….
You’re one of a kind, KT. A different and dying breed. And we are privileged to have you serve our club. Thank you for staying, fighting and keeping your head up.
You’d have to think if Party was now pushing 100 we’d have likely had a nicer 2 years (not that they’ve been that bad mind).
I’d love to blame autocorrect but I just don’t do words good. Partey.
We’d be in the CL this season for sure.
Without a doubt. If Tierney and Partey were fit and firing at the tail-end of last season, we’d have a much stronger team, playing Tuesday/Wednesday football at the moment.
It is good to know that in Edu’s projection, we were a season ahead of schedule. The way this season has started is proof the mgt. team got it spot on.
Amen
Our Tesco bag carrying centurion. Congratulations to KT on his milestone. 🎉🥂
Hope he can get his first team place back in the PL.
This guy is an old-school warrior. Absolutely love him, he has a lot more to give to this club. And we shouldn’t forget that he has come back from serious injuries.
Still one of my favourite players and I hope we can keep him happy. Somehow he seems to have dropped out of favour with the fans a bit. Would be curious to see the percentage of our clean sheets this season that featured him in the starting 11.
Well done, Tierney. Considering his unfortunate injury record that’s quite an achievement really. Let’s hope he makes his second hundred even more quickly.
Xhaka is the grand old man of them all.😄
Congrats, Tierney. Your best days have just begun.