Kieran Tierney has revealed that Mikel Arteta explained that a “tactical change” was the reason for omitting the Arsenal left-back out against Liverpool
The Scotland international appeared a likely starter with Oleksandr Zinchenko absent for the clash at the Emirates Stadium, particularly after being taken off during the preceding Europa League win over Bodo/Glimt.
Yet Arteta sprung a surprise by electing to deploy the naturally right-sided Takehiro Tomiyasu on the left of his defence from the start.
The selection worked, with Tomiyasu producing a strong showing and largely nullifying Mohamed Salah’s threat cutting inside from the right of Liverpool’s forward line, helping Arsenal remain top of the table with a 3-2 win.
Tierney admits he was “gutted” when his manager told him he wasn’t going to start the encounter, but gave credit to Arteta and Tomiyasu for a well-executed plan.
“Yeah of course, I was thinking [I was going to play],” Tierney told Sky Sports.
“I got taken off in the Thursday night game and thought [Mikel Arteta] was maybe keeping me for the Sunday. Maybe that at the time was his plan as well.
“The day before, he took me in and said, ‘It’s not on your performance, this is just the tactical change that I want to make’.
“I’m gutted, that’s all it is. I’m not going to be angry, I’m not going to try hard, I’m gutted because I want to play every opportunity I can. Especially in the big games, you want to play and soak in the atmosphere. There’s nothing I can say.
“We went out and won and [Takehiro] Tomiyasu played amazing and the game plan worked. It just shows you, not many managers would probably think we’ll switch the right-back over here, but he did and it worked.”
Tierney replaced Martin Odegaard eight minutes from time to help Arsenal see out victory after a Bukayo Saka double.
The win continues an outstanding start to the campaign for the London club, who have been beaten only once.
A trip to Leeds is next on the agenda with Tierney again pushing to feature after overcoming a preseason disrupted by a knee injury suffered in March.
The 25-year-old is keen to work his way back into Arteta’s first-choice eleven.
“This season has been new to me,” Tierney said. “There was a spell last season, three or four games I wasn’t playing, but since I started the season, I’ve not really played, so it is new to me.
“I’m learning, I’m dealing with it, but it is tough, football is what I want to play. I worked so hard to get back from injury so you want to play as much as you can as soon as you’re back.
“Unfortunately, I’ve not played too many but every time I get a chance to play, I’m so grateful. I work as hard as I possibly can for the team.
“I’ll just try and get my head down, work hard. I can’t change anything other than how I approach training, how I work. So I’m just trying as hard as I possibly trying to work my way back in.”
