“With what I saw from them in training yesterday, I think they’re going to help us alot against Real Madrid”: Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has promoted two academy players to replace the injured players ahead of Real Madrid’s clash
Kieran Tierney’s return to Celtic is being eagerly anticipated by much of the Celtic support.
The Arsenal defender agreed on a pre-contract deal to join Celtic in the winter transfer window and, so far, Tierney has barely featured for the Premier League club.
With just ten outings for the Gunners, Mikel Arteta has preferred to start the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly to Tierney when Arsenal’s title-bid was on.
However, the Celtic-bound defender has been used sporadically and when called upon, Tierney has impressed Arsenal fans.
After the Premier League club beat Fulham last night, Arteta has been hit with a defensive injury crisis and has hinted that Tierney could be called on again to help get Arsenal to the end of the season just months before his big Celtic return.
Mikel Arteta could be forced to play Celtic-bound Kieran Tierney for Arsenal vs Real Madrid
Arsenal are set to face Real Madrid in the quarterfinal of the Champions League and it seems that Tierney could be set for a starring role in the game on the 8th of April.
Atreta told Arsenal’s official website: “They are two players in this team that never want to come off. Gabi felt something in his hamstring.
“We don’t know how big that is and with Jurrien as well, he was already struggling very early in the game. He managed to continue and at some point he couldn’t, so, that’s the downside to it. Jurrien was the knee.
“The good thing is that it’s been like this the whole season. You see Martinelli today, you say we’re missing three months. You see Bukayo, four months, almost the whole season.
“How we have managed to be where we are with all those injuries. Ben White hasn’t participated at all this season, it’s what it is. We want it so much that we’re going to give it a real go and we are very excited for next week.
“You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week – Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi Magalhaes. We have still another four, who are so willing that they will do their job.”
Kieran Tierney’s Champions League experience for Celtic compared to Arsenal
Tierney has had plenty of Champions League experience with Celtic and it could benefit Arsenal in the coming weeks.
To date, Arteta has used Tierney in the competition three times, accumulating to a grand total of 108 minutes in Europe’s elite competition.
At Celtic, however, the Scotland defender has faced the likes of Inter Milan, Bayern Munich as Rodgers utilised Tierney nine times in the competition for 810 minutes during his time at the Parkhead club.
Tierney has a lot of experience at that level and whilst, admittedly, the majority of it was at Celtic, he has proven he can be trusted to perform and play at the highest level when required.
