Arsenal brought in Kieran Tierney during the summer transfer window after a long battle with Celtic. But the youngster has not been able to cement his place in the first-team squad yet.
Initially, a hernia operation kept the full-back on the sidelines and just when was getting back into the groove, the Scott dislocated his shoulder which forced him to miss a large chunk of the season.
In his absence, young Bukayo Saka has managed to step up and play wonderfully well in the left-back role for the Gunners despite being a winger.
And now things seem to be settling down for the Gunners since Kieran Tierney has more or less returned back to full fitness with the manager claiming he will be back to playing regular football very soon.
But with the return of the former Celtic man, things will be really problematic for Bukayo Saka and also Sead Kolasinac with the manager claiming that the two youngsters will have to fight for their place.
“They have to compete,” said the manager via Goal.
Mikel Arteta on Kieran Tierney in his press conference earlier today:
“He's much closer to a return, he feels fit, he feels confident. Hopefully we can have him soon.” #afc pic.twitter.com/UF3UkctJty
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) February 29, 2020
“They have to challenge each other and improve. Whoever is best will be in the position, which is a really good thing for the team.”
Will Kieran Tierney be the winner in this battle?
Bukayo Saka has perfectly adapted to the left-back role this season despite being a winger by trade and so far the youngster has already provided nine assists for the Gunners this season.
But on the other hand, the player who was brought in to be the first-choice left-back at the club has only managed to play for 299 minutes across five Premier League games meaning Kieran Tierney will practically have to start from scratch once he returns back from injury.
While Arteta will surely be patient with the Scott but the manager will have make a key decision once the season comes to an end. Should he keep using Bukayo Saka as his first-choice left-back or give time to Kieran Tierney so that the 22-year-old can justify his talent.
