SCOTLAND star Kieran Tierney admits the pressures of being top of the tree at Celtic will stand him in good stead for Arsenal's potential title tilt this season.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League so far this campaign.
After nine games the north-London club sit proudly at the summit, with free-scoring Manchester City hot on their tails only one-point behind.
It's a position that Arsenal have rarely found themselves in over the last 15-years.
And while the campaign is only in its early stages, this time last year the Gunners were sitting tenth - so the progress shown under Mikel Arteta is evident.
Ex-Hoops defender Tierney insists nobody is getting ahead of themselves, but pointed out that his previous experience could come in handy.
He said: "It’s only been nine games and you can’t say anyone is anything after nine games.
"If you look at last year, we were down in the table and we climbed our way up, so there’s a long way to go and there’s no point in even thinking like that.
“You want to stay (at the top) of course, I’ve got a bit of experience at Celtic when we were expected to be at the top and stay on the top as well, so it is familiar in that way for me that the pressure is on you to stay there. The other teams are chasing you, and we want to keep that going as long as we can.”
Tierney has found himself in and out of the team this season after the summer signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
KT has also had to contend with small injury knocks in the opening part of the season which has dented his chances in the first team.
He added: “It’s been tough. I missed pre-season coming back from an injury, and the first game I played in was the Palace one – that was the first week of training that I had.
“I’ve just been trying to get minutes here and there so it’s been a tough start, but whether I’m first, second or third-choice, I’m just going to keep working hard and see where it takes me.
“I wouldn’t say (competition) motivates me more, as whether I’m the only left-back or there’s five left-backs, I’m still motivated to play and to do well. Day-to-day, nothing changes in my life; if I’m playing or not I’m just working as hard as I possibly can. I train hard, and if the manager calls on me, I’m ready.
“I want to play every game possible, when you don’t play like all footballers, you’re disappointed but when you get your chance, you just need to make sure you go and take it.”
