Kieran Tierney
According to Mirror, Arsenal are set to make a bid for Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney in the coming days, with reports claiming that manager Unai Emery has convinced the Gunners board that the 22-year-old would be a shrewd signing for the club.
Arsenal are likely to have to work under serious financial constraints this summer after a defeat in the Europa League final against Chelsea saw the Gunners miss out on Champions League qualification for the third successive time.
However, the Gunners are in need of bringing in reinforcements in multiple areas of the pitch to put up a formidable unit for the upcoming season and it remains to be seen how Unai Emery handles the situation.
Mirror understands that Tierney, who is regarded as one of the best players in Scotland, is expected to cost upwards of £20 million but Emery has identified his as one of the main targets for the summer.
The highly-rated 22-year-old was widely tipped to complete a move to Man United last summer but the Red Devils failed to make a substantial bid for the player.
Tierney’s struggles with injuries restricted his involvement this past season but the 22-year-old still played a key role for Celtic, as the Hoops made it nine-in-a-row over Old Firm rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and completed their third successive domestic treble.
The Scottish international made a total of 40 appearances for Celtic in all competitions, contributing with a goal and 6 assists in the process.
A youth product of Celtic, Tierney made rapid progress through the ranks at Parkhead and earned his senior competitive debut back in the 2014-15 season before establishing himself as one of the mainstays of the club’s backline in the 2015-16 campaign.
The 22-year-old’s trophy-laden spell north of the border has seen him win 3 domestic titles, 2 Scottish Cups and 2 Scottish League Cup crowns and it is not difficult to see why he is tipped for a big future.
Tierney has already racked up a staggering 37 assists in 170 appearances for Celtic in all competitions till date, also scoring 8 goals in the process. His stocks are soaring sky-high with each passing season and one would expect him to earn a big-money move to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
A modern-day dynamic full-back with good well-rounded offensive and defensive attributes, Tierney has all the making of evolving into a world-class left-back in the years to come, given that he has already earned rave reviews for his performances in Scotland.
To put things into perspective, it should be an absolute no-brainer for Arsenal to go all out in their pursuit of Kieran Tierney this summer in a bid to add much-needed depth and stability to their leaky backline.
Unai Emery constantly rotated between back-three and back-four systems in the previous season to cope with the defensive crisis but it became pretty apparent that he lacked the personnel to implement either system to good effect.
Arsenal ended up conceding as many as 51 goals in the Premier League last season, which was one of the worst defensive records amongst the top-ten sides in the division.
Shkodran Mustafi was slammed repeatedly for his bizarre defensive errors, and whilst a new centre-back continues to be a priority, Arsenal need to find an alternative to Nacho Monreal, who is out of contract this summer.
It was evident from Monreal’s displays in the last season that he is no longer capable of playing 30-40 games in a campaign. With Sead Kolasinac proving himself to be a defensive liability at times, one cannot help but feel that someone like Kieran Tierney would be an excellent short-term, as well as a long-term, solution to the Gunners’ left-back conundrum.
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Tierney already has a wealth of European and international experience at the tender age of 22 and he still has a lot of time to make significant improvements to his game.
Suffice to say, the Scotsman is a player with a mountain of potential and bringing him in this summer could work wonders for Arsenal, as the Gunners look to add steel and substance to their ailing backline in a bid to challenge for a much-awaited return to the Champions League.