Kieran Tierney's Arsenal future will come down to two key factors.
That's the verdict of former Gunners left-back Nigel Winterburn who would love to see his old club keep hold of the Celtic diehard. The Scotland international has struggled for consistent minutes under Mikel Arteta this season and has been strongly linked with a summer transfer with Champions League bound Newcastle United named as a potential destination with Eddie Howe reportedly a huge fan of the left-back.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been the number one pick by former Rangers midfielder Arteta since his move from Manchester City at the start of the campaign but after being ruled out injured it seemed natural Tierney would come in but he was benched for the clash at Nottingham Forest - a move that left Kris Commons claiming his 'time is up'.
READ MORE: Kieran Tierney Arsenal 'time is up' verdict as Celtic diehard to Newcastle 'more attractive'
Winterburn hopes that is not the case stating the Gunners need competition if they are going to challenge for major honours at the very top but concedes it will ultimately come down to the player and the amount of game time he will get at the Emirates.
Speaking to OLBG on Tierney's future and if it is at Arsenal, he said: "I hope so, but it depends on the player and the amount of game time he's going to get. I would imagine he'd be more involved with the Champions League, but is that enough for him?
"What does he want to do and what does the manager think of him, these are the questions you've got to ask. He's an out-and-out left-back; he isn't like Zinchenko and in my eyes he's stronger defensively, but Zinchenko is better at controlling games that Arsenal are on top of.
"That's the conundrum you have, but if you're trying to build a squad that's going to challenge for competitions then you need players like Tierney and Zinchenko going against each other for a spot.
"It's not good feeling like Arsenal can let Tierney go and bring in somebody who is simply going to be back up.
"Zinchenko would know that he's going to play every game even if his form drops because someone has been brought in simply as cover.
"That's not what you need when you're in a team challenging for the title, trophies or even top four.If your form drops, then you're out and the guy taking your spot has the right to keep it until their form drops.
"That's the competition I think you now need at the very top, so in an ideal world Tierney needs to stay at Arsenal, but I think it'll be down to the player and what he wants because he'll certainly have suiters if he wants to leave."
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