Mikel Arteta has admitted that he’s in the dark over when Kieran Tierney will be back for Arsenal.
The Scotland international hasn’t played for the Gunners in nearly two weeks.
Tierney suffered an ankle injury in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on October 18.
He missed Arsenal’s win at Leicester City today and the victory over Aston Villa last Friday.
But worryingly, Arteta claims that he doesn’t know when the former Celtic defender – a £25 million signing in 2019 – will be available, adding that he can’t even run without discomfort at the moment.
He told Football London after the Foxes win today: “He didn’t train with the team yesterday. He wasn’t feeling good, is still in pain and was struggling with his running.
“We need to help him as much as possible, get him back but I don’t know when that will be.”
Nuno emergence
The silver lining here for Arteta is that it allows Nuno Tavares to continue in Arsenal’s first XI.
The Portuguese left-back was the cheapest player to join the North Londoners this past summer, having only arrived from Benfica for £7 million.
But the Gunners have their hands on a real electrifying athlete here and the longer Tierney’s out, the more comfortable Tavares will grow into this role.
His full Premier League debut came against Villa last week but there was no sign of rust or anxiety.
This is a confident 21-year-old and Arsenal fans are getting more excited by him every week – and rightly so.
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