Is Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney overrated? (Opinion) | OneFootball

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Just Arsenal News

·24 November 2020

Is Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney overrated? (Opinion)

Article image:Is Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney overrated? (Opinion)

Adrian Durham accused Kieran Tierney of being overrated this week, claiming there is at least eight better left-backs in the division.

The Scottish international has been a key player since arriving from Celtic in the summer of 2019, picking up 23 Premier League appearances, including starting in eight of our nine league matches this term.


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Much of his outings have come on the left of a back three, but more recently he has been back in his preferred left-back role, and Durham is not convinced he is as good as the hype.

“All the Arsenal fans think Kieran Tierney is a future captain and that he’s brilliant,” he told TalkSport‘s drivetime show.

“But he’s on a level with a [Patrick] Van Aanholt or a Luke Shaw.

“He’s behind an Aaron Cresswell or an Enda Stevens, or a [Timothy] Castagne or a Matt Targett… he’s way behind [Sergio] Reguilon and [Lucas] Digne!

“And he’s miles behind, a MILLION MILES behind [Ben] Chilwell and [Andy] Robertson.

“Tierney’s alright, he’s okay, but he’s not going to be the answer to all of Arsenal’s problems.

“And yet, all the fans think he is!”

I don’t think I’m alone in coming to the defence of Tierney here, even if Durham was likely just trying to get a rise out of some Gunners.

Tierney is one of the most balanced defenders in the league, one who rarely makes an error, and one who can not only be strong in defence, but also creative when pushing up the field.

While the likes of Lucas Digne and Sergio Reguilon offer plenty in attack, they are not even half the player defensively as our Scot.

Chilwell and Robertson can have an argument for being better potentially, while the former is probably the most balanced that the league has to offer on current form, but is Chilwell really that far behind?

Patrick

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