Arsenal may have to pay the price for the mistake they made in the summer transfer window when they allowed Kieran Tierney to leave for Real Sociedad. The Scotland international went from being a key player for the Gunners to a squad member last season when Mikel Arteta changed his system.
With the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko, there has been a greater emphasis on the role of a reverse full-back, where the defender should retreat into the middle of the park and add a stable base in possession. This doesn’t suit Tierney’s skills, who mostly favoured overlapping on the flanks.
The summer signing of Jurrien Timber and his possible spot at left wing-back in the pre-season pointed to Tierney’s departure, which is exactly what happened. However, the 26-year-old may have been missed as Arsenal have so far paid the price for his loan.
Although hindsight is of course a handy thing, there were some signs in the summer that a potential stay would be needed for the defender. The first was that Timber, his eventual replacement, had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury a few weeks before Tierney’s departure, and the diagnosis was confirmed about two weeks before he left.
This could have been enough time for the deal not to happen and for them to work with the squad they had available, but this did not happen. There were always injury concerns over Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, as the duo often found themselves on the sidelines with occasional problems.
In addition, it was known that Tomiyasu was unlikely to be available in January and February due to the Asian Cup. An argument can be made that Jakub Kiwior is available to fill in, as he has done recently, although there will be questions as to how many appearances he can be relied upon to make.
In the January window, it is still unknown whether Arsenal will be able to call up Tierney from La Liga, where he is on loan, in the second half of the campaign. Meanwhile, the Mirror reports that the Gunners will be interested in a left-sided defender in the coming weeks to help bolster their options.
It’s still unclear whether they will pay for another defender, especially given their depth beyond their current injury problems and international tournaments, but that will be the price they pay for letting Tierney go.