Kieran Tierney reckons his Celtic experience has made him used to the pressure of being at the top.
Arsenal are top of the English Premier League after nine games whereas they sat tenth at the same stage last season. But Tierney isn't getting carried away with himself with the Gunners star insisting "there's a long way to go".
The 25-year-old won five Scottish Premiership titles and six domestic cups during his time at Celtic and believes he can use that to help the north London club go as long at the league's summit. "It’s only been nine games and you can’t say anyone is anything after nine games," Tierney said. "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 Arsenal team this season after the summer signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko while Takehiro Tomiyasu has reinvented himself as a left-back option. The former Hoops star has also had his fair share of injury struggles over the past year, and had to pull out of the Scotland squad last month after going off against Ireland. He admits it's disappointing when he isn't named in the starting XI but knows the key is to work had and grasp any opportunities that come his way.
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.”
