Former Blackburn Rovers forward and Scotland international Kevin Gallacher says there’ll be no stopping Kieran Tierney once he settles in at Arsenal.
Kevin Gallacher thinks circumstances haven’t been easy for Kieran Tierney since his summer move to Arsenal. However, he backs the left-back to come through it and prove himself in England.
Gallacher has experience when it comes to Tierney’s situation. The 53-year-old came down from Scotland in 1990 to make well over 300 appearances for English clubs over 14 seasons. Most notably, he made 144 appearances for Blackburn Rovers during the period they were competing at the top of the league.
The former forward believes plenty of factors have held Tierney back this campaign so far.
“I can sympathise with Kieran,” Gallacher said. “He has moved away from home for the first time to another country. It can, as I can testify, be difficult.
“You’re nervous, you want to do well, there is more tension there, you aren’t as relaxed when you play. He has cost a lot of money and people are watching him to see how he does. Then he gets himself injured.
“Arsenal have been going through a difficult period as well which probably hasn’t helped.”
‘There will be no stopping him’
Despite all that, Gallacher backs the Arsenal number three to shine in North London.
“I know the quality Kieran has,” he continued. “He just has to show that consistently for Arsenal. It is only a matter of time before he comes good. He has just got to get through this period. When he does that there will be no stopping him.”
Arsenal fans certainly enjoyed some of the early signs of what Tierney has to offer. His early Europa League and League Cup performances were impressive, including a couple of assists to Gabriel Martinelli.
He never really had a chance to get going in the Premier League though. The 22-year-old started three games in October and November, before another injury in early December. In total, he isn’t even up to 300 league minutes yet.
In a way, the coronavirus situation is the one external factor that’s actually helping him. Tierney might actually get a chance to play a major part in the league and cup run-in now, which looked unlikely before. We’re all hoping for the best with him.