Mikel Arteta may have ensured that Kieran Tierney has a future at Arsenal. Over the last few months, Tierney has been heavily linked with an exit from Arsenal. The 26-year-old was not to leave because he wasn’t quality, but because Arteta’s tactics last season saw Arsenal overdepend on Zinchenko playing from the left back.
This situation saw him struggle to break into the team, as he couldn’t offer what the Ukrainian offered.
Zinchenko would be deployed at left back, but whenever he was in possession, he would drift to midfield, giving Granit Xhaka the licence to join the attack and thus outnumber the other team once the ball was supplied to Arsenal attackers.
While Zinchenko temporarily moved to the midfield, the other defenders had to hold the fort, which meant Ben White at right back had to be attentive to support the defence. Arsenal depended on this play, but Arteta wants to change that with Jurrien Timber.
With the arrival of Jurrien Timber, who’s undoubtedly technically gifted, Arteta seeks to have the Dutch do a “Zincheko” from right back, which may necessitate a defensive-minded left back, which we know Zinchenko isn’t, hence Tierney gets to feature at left back.
There’s a future for Tierney at left-back. Over the past few months, when there’s been talk about his exit, one thing that has yet to be denied is that he is a quality left-back.
With many of his suitors not yet bold enough to approach Arsenal for a deal, let’s hope Arteta convinces the Sottish International he can still stay at Arsenal and establish himself as the legend we always knew he would one day be.
Daniel O
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