Scotland boss Steve Clarke has revealed that he has been speaking to Kieran Tierney about his future with Arsenal.
Tierney has struggled for game time this season, with summer arrival Oleksandr Zinchenko usurping him as Mikel Arteta's starting left-back given the Ukrainian international's ability to invert into a midfield role when his side are in possession. In total, the 25-year-old has played just 489 minutes of Premier League action this term, leading to plenty of speculation surrounding his future in north London.
Newcastle United are one team that has been linked with a summer transfer for the talented defender and Clarke has claimed that the player has been handling his ongoing situation in a typically professional manner. "Kieran understands it's one of the things you have to deal with at a top-level club," Clarke said when asked about the former Celtic fullback.
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"I've spoken to him and he's handling the situation well. I had it myself as a player. In the early days at Chelsea it was a little bit easier, but once the foreign influence started and better players arrived, you find yourself at a level where you're maybe not selected for every game.
"You've got to deal with that and that's what he's doing. You have to be a good pro and work as hard as you can. I actually had six months where I let myself down. I didn't train or work as hard as I could to be in the team when Bobby Campbell was the manager. Thankfully, I saw the error of my ways, knuckled down and got back in.
"Everyone deals with these situations differently. If I could go back to when team selection was wobbling a little bit, I'd do it differently. So I can pass that experience on to people now, give them the benefit of my situation. You try to impart that knowledge to players who are experiencing something similar.
"I saw I wasn't going anywhere and had to knuckle down. That's what I did and I ended up with a pretty decent career.
"But you have a choice. Run, try elsewhere or stick it out. Kieran's good enough to play at the EPL's (English Premier League's) highest level. He should knuckle down, see out the season like the good professional he is and see what the summer brings."
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