Fed-up Arsenal fans have called on Mikel Arteta to do the right thing and reward Kieran Tierney with a start against Tottenham.
The 27-year-old flashed his brilliance as a late replacement during Sunday’s disastrous penalty shoot-out defeat to 10-man Manchester United. The rampaging left-back – on the verge of returning to Celtic as a free agent in the summer – was barely out his trackie before he whipped in an inviting ball in extra time which went unclaimed. The irate Gooners were left guffawing and a vocal element can see no good reason why Tierney is being shunted out of North London.
Now those same punters – fed up with Arteta’s ‘robotic’ style of play which features full-backs inverting rather than hitting – want Tierney in the team for Wednesday’s season-defining North London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates. Punters want Tierney in from the start against Ange Postecoglou’s side – and some even believe he is the club’s best option to play on the right wing as an option to mitigate the damage caused by injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. And some followers of Arsenal aren’t giving up hope that Tierney can be convinced to stay for the long term.
One fan wrote: “We bring on Kieran Tierney and apart from the goal he created quite possibly one of the best chances of the game and it’s not really his fault as nobody gambles.” Another added: “How good was it to see Kieran Tierney back on the pitch?. Such a shame he has been plagued by injury. His cross at the end was pure class.”
And that was backed up, a Gunners fan said: I personally think Kieran Tierney can help us this season. The pitiful minutes he’s played for us he has played forward and put in crosses perfectly for someone to score. We just need that someone.”
Another had some harsh words for the boss. They said: “My only criticism of Arteta is that he doesn’t use his squad to find different solutions when needed For example not using Tierney to overlap and provide crosses. He is probably the best crosser we have, Not giving Zinchenko a chance at LCM or Martinelli as a striker.”
While one fed-up fan let rip, stating: “A manager should have a style of play and buy players suitable to that style. Arteta has digressed from free-flowing football as evident in the signing of Havertz & Merino. Saddest part is that a lot of Arsenal players are suffering in silence. This robotic style doesn’t suit them.”