Kevin Campbell has urged Arsenal to keep Kieran Tierney beyond the summer transfer window, even though Mikel Arteta doesn’t rate him as highly as Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The former striker made it clear that Kieran Tierney is a ‘much better defender’ than the Ukraine international.
But he feels, from Mikel Arteta’s perspective, the one major difference between the two is that Oleksandr Zinchenko can play that inverted wing-back role better than the 25-year-old Scotland international.
That’s probably why Tierney has only played 649 minutes of Premier League football this season – Newcastle United are ‘increasingly likely’ to sign the former Celtic man.
Not only are Newcastle United keen on him ahead of the summer transfer window opening, but Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have also got a mention.
Either way, Campbell would like Tierney to stay put because there are some ‘huge games’ coming up next season as Arsenal return to the Champions League, as he told the Highbury Squad.
“Kieran Tierney is a much better defender than Zinchenko,” said Campbell. “We have to get ourselves into winning positions. If we can do that, then fair enough, we can bring Tierney on.
“But we have to get playing and into that winning position first. I just don’t think he (Arteta) sees Tierney doing what Zinchenko does. And that’s the issue.
“As a left-back, up and down, Tierney is as good as there is in the Premier League. 100%
“Unfortunately, the way we are set up, as an attacking side, Zinchenko knows how to play that role with his eyes closed – Kieran Tierney, I think the club should keep him. We have seen injuries with Zinchenko. Tierney does have a part to play at Arsenal. I do believe that because next season there are some huge games.”
TIERNEY SHOULD LEAVE
From Arsenal’s perspective, they should keep Tierney because it increases the quality of their squad, especially as they return to Champions League football
But ahead of Euro 2024, the all-action defender needs to be starting on a regular basis next season and he simply won’t get that at the Emirates.
As a result, moving to St James’ Park – where there should be Champions League football – would be a wise move, especially given that Eddie Howe is looking for a left-back.
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