Kieran Tierney says Arsenal’s post-lockdown performances don’t reflect the work the squad has put in and he’s confident that they can turn things around.
Defeats to Manchester City and Brighton in the space of four days have put a real dampener on the mood of supporters and with the club slipping from ninth to 11th in the table our chances of qualifying for Europe are looking increasingly slim.
Tonight’s trip to Southampton represents another chance to get back on a horse that too often falls over like Arjen Robben in a light breeze.
Speaking to Premier League Productions ahead of the clash at St Mary’s, Tierney said: “We’ve obviously not had the start that we wanted or that we’ve worked for, but that happens in football.
“It doesn’t always go your way. It’s how you deal with the setbacks and for us it’s about working hard in training as we’ve been doing. We’re working at 100 per cent and we’re confident we can get the result.”
In a separate interview with Sky Sports, he added: “The bus journey was quiet on the way home, but I think we’ve reacted well in training. We’ve got a point to prove and we need to go out there and get the results that the manager wants and the fans deserve.”
Having signed for big money last summer from Celtic, it’s fair to say this season has not gone as well as the Scot might like.
Having arrived with an injury it took him several months to get back to full fitness and then in December he promptly dislocated his shoulder against West Ham. He was ready to return to action in March when lockdown restrictions were enforced and has since had to bide his time.
Despite all that, the left-back insists he’s loving the chance to learn under Mikel Arteta.
“It’s been so good, the understanding he [Arteta] has of the game and how he wants to play has been amazing,” he said.
“I feel as if I’m learning every single day. I’m adapting to his game plan and buying into it so much.
“It’s so enjoyable to train and play. Hopefully we can improve results now, it’s not going to happen overnight but we’re working towards something big.
“He (Arteta) is very demanding and training is intense. You know when you go in it’s going to be an intense session and you’re going to cover a lot of tactical work.”
In the Sky Sports interview, he added: “There are times for a laugh and a joke – Mikel loves that as well – but when we’re working, we’re working. It’s a lot of tactical stuff as well, and that’s going to help us all get an understanding of how he wants us to play.”
It definitely feels like Tierney has wholeheartedly bought into Arteta’s philosophy even if the hard work isn’t bearing fruit on the pitch at the moment.
“I’ve said before, something like that is not going to just work straight away, it’s going to be a process, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and we need to stay focused on that. There are going to be bad results and bad games, but as a team we need to keep the confidence, stick together and kick on again.”
“…chance to get back on a horse that too often falls over like Arjen Robben in a light breeze.” Hah! Well done Andrew Allen. He was indeed the Diving Dutchman!
Heh. The other player that I couldn’t stand because of his diving was Drogba. Any contact and he’d go down like an epileptic that had been knifed in the back.
Not true, Drogba was known for overpowering defenders and shoot.
…or was that just against us? ?
Especially against us. We’d have all the ball. Chavski would intercept, lump a long ball to Drogba who was upfront without any other Chavski players to play to and being man marked by one of our defenders… Our defender and him would go for the high ball 50:50 header/challenge and without fail he’d go down “writhing in pain holding his back”. This would mean Chavski would move the whole way up the pith for the freekick… He did it the whole night in the final when Chavski won the Champions League.
which to be fair was one of the greatest performances of total shithousery in modern football history
And we had the chance to sign him… My opinion of him might’ve been different had he been a Gunner. Apparently that was a tactic that Mourinho coached him…
For all the criticism we’ve (rightly) had of signings, I think Tierney is the real deal.
Yeah, he’s the one signing in recent times that i’ve been excited about. He can actually defend, he has pace, positioning is good, he has a great cross on him and he has a wise old head on him for a pretty young player. There’s a future captain in there if we can embrace his qualities and if he remains injury free. Unfortunately it’s that last ‘if’ that’s the worry.
Agreed, with Saka in front of him, it looks like the left hand side of our team is sorted for some good times ahead.
It worked wonderfully well and you could see the contrast in our left and right flanks even if Tierney sat back as aux CB along side holding!! I liked the team structure against Southampton which was highly organized and disciplined. Also it was more like 4-4-2 with Auba playing just behind Eddie.
*Off Topic*
Have you guys watched this? It’s pretty hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHX3Bujnyg8&feature=youtu.be
Being in his early 20s, possessing the cojones that we’ve been accused of lacking, and given his status as a must-play (when injury-free), I sincerely hope Arteta makes Kieran Tierney captain at some point soon.
He will be, very forward oriented player.
And what about getting a referee who might actually book a Southamptoner for repeated fouling, like say after 10 late challenges
Just a pity that the light at the end of the tunnel is attached to a train.
He was kind of saying: You can work hard and still lose. That’s the way football is.
A lottery? Bravo to new players who adopt the Arsenal way quickly.
Can anyone recommend a reliable stream source for today’s game? My usual source is not televising it – preferring Burnley v. Watford (which shows you where things are headed!).
There’s been talk about Hector’s leadership qualities. But Tierney gives me the impression he is a true professional. There’s a simplicity and energy to his play and approach I really like.
Yeah. He’s a man and you can see that he’s trusted