Mikel Arteta has been singing the praises of Kieran Tierney ahead of his first north London derby.
Kieran Tierney arrived at Arsenal from Celtic last summer for a sum of £25m.
Despite missing a large chunk of the season, he has impressed so much that he is already being linked with a move to another club, an unlikely scenario for the boy who agonised long and hard about whether or not to leave Glasgow.
Especially not when one of the clubs listed as fancying their cances is Leicester City. It’s hardly Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, is it?
Asked about him before Arsenal’s match against Spurs on Sunday, Arteta couldn’t have been clearer.
“Kieran is not going anywhere! I really like him,” Arteta told reporters.
”I’ve been very impressed with him since I joined – how he was acting and working on his rehab.
“And, then, with his performances, I’m delighted. He’s adapted really well. He’s a player that gives you everything in every game – and he’s adding quality.
“Everybody loves him at the club and that’s not a coincidence.
“He earns that every single day by the way he treats people, the way he works, the way he brings energy to the place.
“He is still so young – there are still things to improve, obviously – but he’s been a great addition to our team.
“He had a really difficult period.
“Because of the injuries, because he moved to a different city, and a different context that he had in Glasgow, with a club that was winning all the time and where he was very settled.
“It was a challenge. He’s been dealing with that in the best way. He needed the club to support him, he needed his team-mates to make life easier.
“We’re all trying to help. That’s a pleasure because of how willing he is to work, improve and give his maximum – all the time.”
Earlier this week it was reported that some Arsenal players had taken Tierney aside to discuss his approach in training – it was too hard, they complained.
Mikel Arteta didn’t, however.