Arsenal fans have just realised that a forgotten man is in line to start for the club for the first time in nearly two years amid an injury crisis.
Following on from a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fulham at the weekend, Arsenal host Ligue One side Monaco at the Emirates in the Champions League on Wednesday and look to improve on the 10 points they have accrued to put them seventh in the table after five games.
But they go into the clash with huge injury issues, particularly at left-back. Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes all missed training on Tuesday and are therefore major doubts for the fixture.
But the plethora of injuries look set to bring an opportunity for Kieran Tierney, who many likely forgot still plays for Arsenal.
Tierney, a £25 million signing from Celtic in 2019, has not started for the Gunners since May 2023 in a 3-0 defeat to Brighton. His last outing in an Arsenal shirt was a 10 minute cameo in the Community Shield against Manchester City before he was sent on loan to La Liga side Real Sociedad for the season, playing 26 times.
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The Scotland international picked up yet another hamstring injury playing for his country at Euro 2024 in Germany but was a surprise inclusion in Arsenal's Champions League squad when it was submitted in September.
That decision now looks to be justified a few months on and Arteta is prepared to give him a route back into the side after putting in the work.
"He is ready, he’s training really well and he’s going to have an opportunity for sure,” Arteta said in his press conference.
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“The way the team is looking at the moment, he is going to do that for that reason and because he’s earned it. The way he’s behaved, the way he’s been with us because he’s willing to do it and when that happens, you have to give those opportunities to players.”
William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior look set to join Tierney as the only fit senior defenders for Arsenal, with Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu long-term absentees.
Tierney has made 124 appearances for Arsenal, winning the FA Cup and two Community Shields.
Topics: Arsenal, Champions League, Mikel Arteta, AS Monaco
Josh Lawless