TIERNEY’S TOTAL JOY
Kieran loves Guns gig
KIERAN TIERNEY joined Arsenal to play Total Football and believes that’s exactly what boss Unai Emery is trying to do.
The phrase was coined for the free-scoring Dutch teams of Johan Cruyff in the 1970s but for Tierney the Gunners have been great entertainers for years.
And the Scot, who started his second game for the club in Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League rout of Standard Liege, claims the chance to be a part of that was why he chose to quit boyhood club Celtic.
The left-back, 22, said: “It is a massive club and everybody knows the style of Arsenal, the way they play.
“You learn from a young age that they play Total Football, the way I like to play. It is an absolute honour that they liked me enough to come and get me. It is a privilege. This week was amazing.
“It was my European debut for the club and it came with a win and a clean sheet – I can’t ask for any more.”
Tierney’s on-off £25m summer transfer looked more off than on until lengthy talks finally bore fruit just as Celtic kicked off in a Champions League qualifier.
The Scotland defender was training with friends in a local park when he got the call to travel to London but had to wait to make an impression after a double hernia op.
But Tierney is targeting a first Premier League start at home to Bournemouth tomorrow. He said: “It was a frustrating time.
“If I am given an opportunity to play, I will be delighted, but I just need to take it one day at a time.
“I think the club deserves to be in the Champions League. Hopefully we can do that. You want to win trophies but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
He added: “It is a massive change for me. I was a home boy, I always stayed with my parents, and I’ve come down here to a different country, a massive city.
“But so far everybody at the club has helped me settle. How do I find living on my own? Not great.
“I need to cook every night so I am learning. I will get there.”