Football Today
·26 November 2024
Football Today
·26 November 2024
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed an injury boost ahead of the Champions League outing at Sporting CP tonight.
The Gunners have had a mixed run of performances since the October international break, but they were brilliant against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last weekend.
They scored three goals without reply and could have easily bagged more. Arteta will be hoping for a similar performance against the Portuguese champions.
In his pre-match presser, the Spaniard confirmed good news with Kieran Tierney back in the squad after his prolonged absence with a hamstring injury.
He said: “Everyone who is in the squad is fully fit to start the game. We have Kieran Tierney with us after a long injury.
It’s great news that he is back – he’s been training with us, and he is available to participate.”
Tierney was out of favour with the Gunners last season. He spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan with Real Sociedad, where he was in and out of the team due to injuries.
The Scotland international was expected to leave the club last summer, but he picked up a serious hamstring injury at the 2024 European Championship, which blocked his potential exit.
The £25 million signing has now travelled with the Gunners to Portugal after a successful recovery, and he could make an appearance off the bench.
Arsenal are well equipped in the left-back department. Riccardo Calafiori is a guaranteed starter.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly are back-up options alongside Tierney.
Tierney previously admitted that he has never played as an inverted left-back in his career and he could leave Arsenal in January.