Mikel Arteta has insisted that Kieran Tierney is part of his plans amid speculation he will leave Arsenal this summer.
Tierney has been tipped to depart the Emirates for some time now having seen his game time reduced dramatically thanks to injury and the form of .
Last season, the 26-year-old started just six games, and wasn’t even in the matchday squad for this campaign’s opening fixture against last Saturday.
Furthermore, Arteta is now lining his team up to use inverted full-backs like and new signing , leaving the more traditional left-back at a disadvantage.
As a result, many believe Tierney is looking to leave north London in search of regular minutes, with boyhood club Celtic, and Real Sociedad all linked with his signature.
Having spent over £200million so far this transfer window, Arsenal could do with raising some cash and would fetch a decent fee for the highly-rated defender who has three years left on his contract.
But when asked, in his pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s clash at Crystal Palace, if Tierney was still a part of his plans, Arteta defiantly stated that he was.
‘He played the [Community Shield] final, no? A player that plays five days before in the final is part of the plans, for sure.’
Asked if Tierney was disappointed to be left out of the squad for the Forest win, the manager simply replied: ‘I hope so.’
Tierney did indeed play in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City – albeit only the last 14 minutes, coming off the bench to replace debutant Timber.
, and that may allow Tierney a way back onto the pitch.
Though not his natural position, he has plenty of experience operating as a left-sided central defender, having played that role for Scotland, and based on his manager’s comments he can work his way back into contention.
But he’ll face strong competition for a place in the starting XI, with White, Zinchenko, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior.
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