CARRIER BAGS AND T-SHIRTS... TIERNEY IS A RELATABLE HERO

ZENIT St PETERSBURG v Celtic, Europa League, February 2018. To say it’s cold is an understatement. It’s Russia in midwinter and it’s minus 15. The local lakes have frozen over and the streets are white with snow.

I’m there to cover the game for BT Sport. I’m wearing multiple layers, with all my thermals on, but am still chilled to the bone. Then I see Scott Brown, the Celtic captain, walking out of his hotel in a green T-shirt.

Seeing Kieran Tierney warming up at the Hawthorns (right) reminded me of that moment. There were Arsenal players in tights, snoods, gloves, hats — you name it. Then there was Tierney, in his short- sleeved T-shirt and socks rolled down.

I cannot help wonder whether Tierney got that trait from Brown and, as with his fellow Scot, I see a captain in the making in

Tierney. The 23- year- old is so relatable. He rocks up holding a Tesco carrier bag, rather than one of those Louis Vuitton wash bags, like any of us might for a game of five-a-side! He’s so unassuming. But above all, he is a ‘100 per center’. He gives nothing less. Tierney will make the odd mistake. He’ll have his bad games. He had those for Celtic. But he’ll still be all-in. I can bet even his poorest performances will be better than some of the best we’ve seen from Arsenal players this season. Tierney likes to work and improve on his weak areas. At Celtic, I always thought he was sound defensively but it was in the final third where he had to get better. It’s safe to say his end product was pretty good against West Brom on Saturday! Tierney was loved at Celtic and he still loves that club — I know he follows them when he can. But the Scot was well within his rights to come down south and try his luck in a more competitive league with a big club like Arsenal.

Towards the end of his time in Scotland, he was struggling with a pelvic injury but still making himself available. He was putting himself under pressure to perform when, in reality, he needed time to heal, settle and strengthen that area.

Now fully fit, Mikel Arteta knows what he’s going to get having Tierney in his team every week.

What Arsenal have lacked this season is drive and consistency and Tierney has both of those in abundance. He was once asked what London is like and answered: ‘I have no idea, I’ve never been into the city. I train, I work hard, I go home to recover and I train the next day.’

I love hearing that. That’s a determined player right there. Celtic knew how lucky Arsenal were to be getting Tierney when they spent £ 24million to bring him to the Premier League in 2019. Now Arsenal are realising that, too.