Arsenal are fearful that the injury picked up by Kieran Tierney just before halftime of the disappointing defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday could keep him out of action for several weeks, according to Charles Watts of Goal.com.
Two of the biggest topics of conversation outside of the actual loss to Liverpool were the injuries sustained to David Luiz and Kieran Tierney. We’ve since come to learn that Luiz has undergone a small procedure, of which we’ll provide an update below, but there are still plenty of question marks about what the future looks like for the pair heading into the next few weeks and potentially even months.
During an interview with Arsenal.com, Mikel Arteta went into more detail on the situation as it stands.
Liverpool are still the reigning Premier League champions, and by no means are they an easy opponent at any given moment despite having their first three centre-backs ruled out for the season, together with their captain. There is much quality in that team even so, and getting outplayed by them is no tragedy. Nonetheless, the overwhelming feeling after the 0-3 defeat at the Emirates on Saturday is disappointment.
Arsenal have had a number of players absent from the last couple of fixtures, and here’s the official verdict when it comes to some of them being involved when the Gunners face Leeds United on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno was sent off for a, for a lack of a better word, foolish moment when he handled the ball outside the penalty area in the 2-1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 2nd. He has now served his one-match suspension – the 1-0 defeat away to Aston Villa on Saturday last, which means he is available for Sunday.
After the domination shown by Gabriel Magalhaes in this category to kickstart the new Premier League campaign, Arsenal fans now have a new face at the helm of the Player of the Month award – Bukayo Saka. The jury has certainly been out on whether or not the youngster is capable of being a top prospect for the Gunners, but after a strong series of performances in December, he has been recognised as one of the leading forces behind the club getting back on the winning trail.
Arsenal.com posted the following after revealing Saka as the winner.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hopes he will be able to count on Kieran Tierney for the Manchester City showdown this weekend. The boss is set to lead the team against his former employers on Saturday in a game which will be a part of the fifth round of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign.
While on international duty with Scotland, Southampton midfielder Stuart Armstrong tested positive for Covid-19. Tierney, along with Celtic midfielder Cyrus Christie and two members of Scotland’s backroom staff, have been identified as the ones to have had close contact with Armstrong the most, and have therefore been requested to undergo a 14-day self-isolation by the Lothian Health Protection Team.
Scotland fans were hit with a huge dose of bad luck when three of their squad members were forced out of their playoff against Israel due to COVID-19. Southampton player Stuart Armstrong tested positive, but Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney will be forced to self-isolate as a result of close contact – as will Ryan Christie.
Arsenal.com has released the following statement as the Scots prepare to try and steer their way to UEFA Euro 2021.
“The Scottish FA have today announced that Southampton player Stuart Armstrong has returned a positive test for COVID-19 while on international duty with the Scotland men’s national team.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes the Gunners shouldn’t allow Kieran Tierney to leave the club after only one season.
Arsenal signed Tierney last summer from Celtic for £25 million after pursuing him for several months. The 23-year-old played for the Scottish champions under the command of Brendan Rodgers, now of course, in charge at Leicester. The Foxes have an established left-back of their own in Ben Chilwell, but Chilwell is reportedly a priority target for Chelsea this summer.
Arsenal are set to resume the Premier League season when they take on Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday, following the winter break which reportedly did the team a lot of good. Be that as it may, head coach Mikel Arteta spoke to the press ahead of the game and provided some updates on the situation with injured players.
Left-back Kieran Tierney, who hurt his shoulder by falling awkwardly in the West Ham clash back in December, has been ruled out and will likely need a few weeks more. It was confirmed that he was back in training in Dubai, but it was restricted to strictly non-contact work which obviously means his shoulder is still too sensitive for him to play.
Arsenal have been struggling much with fitness issues lately, especially in the defensive department. Calum Chambers it our for the rest of the season. Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac have both been out recently, forcing Mikel Arteta to utilize young winger Bukayo Saka on the left defensive flank – but Saka picked up a knock too in the goalless draw away at Burnley last week. Even the newly signed Cedric Soares came from Southampton injured. Forward Reiss Nelson has now joined them all in the treatment room.
