Arsenal boss Arteta confirms Tierney suffered knee injury against Liverpool
April 5, 2021
Kieran Tierney looks a doubt for Arsenal ’s Europa League quarter-final clash with Slavia Prague after coming off with a knee injury in the side’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday night.
The Scotland left-back was clearly in some discomfort as he hobbled off in the dying moments of the first half following a robust challenge with James Milner while the scoreline was still goalless at the Emirates.
It initially appeared as if Tierney, unquestionably one of Arsenal’s standout performers this season, may be able to continue after receiving treatment on the pitch but Cedric Soares soon had to be introduced in place of the full-back.
The Portugal international saw out the remainder of the match as the Gunners crumbled in a miserable second-half display, with Diogo Jota finding the net either side of Mohamed Salah’s 68th-minute strike.
The result saw Liverpool close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to just two points, while Arsenal remain stuck down in ninth in the Premier League table.
It was a knee problem which kept Tierney sidelined for around a month between January and February earlier this season and Arteta will no doubt be sweating over the severity of his latest setback ahead of Thursday’s quarter-final first leg with Slavia Prague.
At his post-match press conference, the Spaniard admitted he was unsure whether Tierney would be able to feature, with Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka and Emile Smith Rowe also doubtful. ‘He felt something in his knee and he was in pain,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters. ‘He will be injured but we don’t know for how long.’
Arteta pulled no punches with his assessment of Arsenal’s ‘unacceptable’ performance and admitted he was taken aback by the sorry nature of the loss.
‘We completely deserved to lose the game they were better in every department,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘They deserved to win with the margin they have or more and it was unacceptable from our side the way we played.’ ‘I accept responsibility for the way we played today.
They made the right decisions, we didn’t. It is my fault. I have to set the team up to perform in a different way and that is it. ‘Congratulations to Liverpool because they were exceptional today. That showed the difference between the two teams – that when they play at that level, the margin is incredibly high.
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