Steve Clarke has urged Kieran Tierney not to give up on his Arsenal future as he made parallels between his own playing career and the Scotland defender.
Tierney has a decision to make in the summer with his role at high-flying Gunners diminishing by the game as Mikel Arteta's side search for a historic English Premier League crown. The 25-year-old has managed a handful of appearances at the Emirates this season due to the emerging importance of number one left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Celtic hero has made over 100 appearances since making the switch to London in 2019.
But with Newcastle United reportedly leading the charge for the defender's signature, Clarke is urging the youngster not make rash decisions like he did as a player at Chelsea. The Scotland gaffer revealed he has spoken with Tierney and that he is handling it 'well' but that he imparted some wisdom.
He said: “It’s one of the things you have to deal with when you are playing at a top-level club. I had it myself when I was a player. In the early days at Chelsea it was a little bit easier.
“But once you have the foreign influence starting to come in, and quality players start to turn up, you find yourself at a level where you are maybe not going to be selected to play every game. You have to deal with that.
“I’ve spoken to Kieran recently and he is handling the situation well. He understands why he is not getting so many minutes. He just has to knuckle down and get on with it. You have to be a good professional and work as hard as you can.
“His club are flying at the top of the league so, while it’s not great that he is not playing, he can take some comfort from the fact the team are playing well."
He added: “Kieran is probably in a slightly different position. He is certainly good enough to play at the highest level in the EPL. So I think he should knuckle down, see this season out like the good professional he is and see what the summer brings.
“So I can pass that on to people like Kieran now and give them the benefit of my experience. I just changed within myself. I realised I wasn’t going anywhere. I had to knuckle down and get back in the team – and that’s what I did. I ended up with a pretty decent career as a result.
“I now have all those experiences to take with me. You try to impart that knowledge to players who are experiencing something similar, if not the same situation. You say: ‘Look I made an a**e of myself there, just be careful what you are doing, do the right thing.’"
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