Kieran Tierney feels that he is well on the way to building back to full fitness after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday.
The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Pep Guardiola’s men but was unable to prevent the Gunners from slipping to a disappointing defeat by the Premier League leaders.
It was Tierney’s first start in more than a month for Mikel Arteta’s side after the Scotland international was out of action due to an injury.
Related Articles
The full-back has now admitted that Sunday’s game took it out of him physically but he was glad to be able to complete the full 90 minutes against the Citizens.
Speaking to Arsenal’s website after the game, Tierney said: “I was just knackered!.
“Yeah, it was a tough game and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the full game, but I did.
“It’s 90 minutes under my belt and I’m happy for that and happy that the manager gave me the chance again.”
Reflecting on the defeat as a whole, Tierney said that he felt the Gunners were made to pay for a poor start, with Raheem Sterling netting the eventual winner in the opening exchanges.
“That’s what happened, really,” he continued. “Against a team like City you can’t afford to make the start we made in the first five or ten minutes or they’re going to punish you.
“It’s hard because nobody was planning to not start well, so it’s hard to say exactly what it was but it was just something that can happen against a top team and they punished us for it today.
“You try to think positively because you know you’re coming up against a team like City, so you know if you go one-nil down it’s not the end of the world because they’re playing brilliantly right now.
“We always believed that we could get back in it and we had chances and some parts of the game where we were doing really well and we were unlucky not to get a goal today.”
Arsenal will take on Benfica in the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie on Thursday night.
After that, the Gunners will turn their attentions to their trip to Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
MORE: Latest Arsenal news and views
MORE: Football transfer rumours and gossip
The post Kieran Tierney offers update for Arsenal fans after Man City defeat appeared first on The Sport Review.
