Kenny Dalglish has urged Kieran Tierney to use the international break as an opportunity to impress Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
The Scotland international has struggled for game time at the Emirates this season after the Gunners brought in Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
As a result of this, Tierney has been linked with a move out of Arsenal in the summer and Newcastle United have been discussed as a potential suitor.
Dalglish understands the frustration facing the former Celtic defender, but he has backed the 25-year-old to remain focused and ambitious in North London.
He explained: “I think he was left out initially because he was injured, and the boy has done well who has come in. It does not mean to say he has gone backwards.
“He has an opportunity now to play for Scotland. The two best players now are probably him and Andy Robertson, so Tierney is probably going to come back in.
“I don’t know where Steve Clarke is going to put him. I would imagine him and Andy are going to play. But is a great opportunity for him to put his case forward for Arsenal.
“He has not got any worse as a player, being at Arsenal and not playing. It is just the fact someone else has been a wee bit better than him.
“You have to be ambitious but you have to be realistic as well. It’s all well and good picking up medals but it’s even better when you are part and parcel of it – and he will want to be part and parcel of it.
“He will respect where he is and he will respect the boy who got in when he was injured and nicked a step in front of him because he would expect to do the same himself.
“And if he did well, he would keep his place. He will be realistic. He is not someone who gets carried away. He will be realistic with it. And he has an opportunity to come and get two full games with the Scotland games and see how he does there.”
He continued: “Arteta has probably signed Zinchenko because he wants Arsenal to play the same way as Man City. And Tierney was not used to playing that way.
“He wants the fullbacks to be inside rather than outside. And he has been used to that, he was taught it at Man City. It is a challenge for Tierney as well.
“Take the challenge up and see if he can play and if he can’t get a place there, see if you can knock someone out further forward. Left-sided, or whatever. By the way, to be successful you have to have a really good squad of players.”
Arsenal are currently eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table with ten games remaining, meaning they are heavy favourites for the title.
On the battle for the top spot with Manchester City, Dalglish added: “Arsenal had a wee hiccup there for a few games and it looked as if they were seeing the worst of it, and their best days might have gone. But they have picked up again.
“The last two or three games they have had they have been impressive and yet they got knocked out of the Europa League. They don’t want to be knocked out but it could be a blessing in disguise.
“They don’t have the Thursday-Sunday conundrum that seems to put a lot of people off. They have Man City to play. Man City beat them there and they have to come to Anfield. It is not finished yet but they are not past the post.
“They are in the position that everyone would rather be in. You are better to be five points clear at the top of the league than five points behind in second place unless you have games in hand. They deserve to be where they are. The position they are in, they have earned.”
Kenny Dalglish was promoting Viaplay’s live and exclusive coverage of Scotland v Spain. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
