KT RULES OK
EUROPA LEAGUE ARSENAL .... 4 S LIEGE .... 0 SCOTT BURNS AT THE EMIRATES
KIERAN TIERNEY showed that he’s the gold Standard on his Europa League bow for Arsenal last night. He might not be ready to star for Scotland but the former Celtic ace shone as he played his first full 90 minutes for Unai Emery’s side. The left-back showed his class and was a standout performer in last night’s classy victory over Standard Liege. KT also proved that he could add to the Gunners’ armoury as he had a hand in three goals. Arsenal opened with an impressive 3-0 away win against Eintracht Frankfurt to sit proudly at the top of Group F and they are looking for another glory run after reaching the final before being thwarted by Chelsea last season.
But could it take Tierney back to Glasgow at some stage with Celtic and Rangers pushing to get to the knockout stages?
This was the 22-year-old’s first European appearance since last December when he played for Celtic in the 2-1 home defeat by Salzburg. It was a campaign that ended in disappointment as a hip problem meant he missed both legs of the last 32 clash as Celtic were dumped by Valencia. The same injury finished his season and the Scotland star was still getting over it when he completed his £25million move to Arsenal at the end of the window. That has seen Emery and his medical staff treat their new defender with kid gloves, building him up gradually. It meant Tierney had only played 77 minutes in the Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest before last night’s game.
But Tierney’s parents, Michael and Gail, had travelled down to London to make their boy feel more at home.
He was fired up from the start, winning tackles and racing forward to swing balls into the box.
Tierney performance was typical of his Celtic days and he showed he was equally at home on the front foot as he swung in a beautiful, curling cross for Gabriel Martinelli to head in the 14th-minute opener.
The Scot clenched his fist before he ran off to embrace the Brazilian, amidst the legendary “1-0 to the Arsenal” chants.
Two minutes later, his run led to another. He fed Reiss Nelson who saw his shot blocked before Martinelli fired home. Arsenal ripped Liege apart and KT was at the heart of everything.
He laid a cross on a plate for Joe Willock who lobbed over. Another good run and piece of trickery saw him cut inside his marker and tee up Nelson whose shot was blocked before Willock followed up to net in the 22nd minute.
On-loan Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos netted the fourth on 57 minutes. A good night was capped off for Tierney when he heard his beloved Celtic had also beaten Cluj after leaving the field at the final whistle.
He will now be hoping he has done enough to make his longawaited Premier League debut against Bournemouth on Sunday.