‘He shouldn’t apologise’: Martin Keown on reports about Arsenal star

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Martin Keown has told Stadium Astro that Kieran Tierney should not apologise to his Arsenal teammates for training as he plays, amid reports that the Scottish defender was told to tone down his intensity.

£25million signing (BBC) Tierney, 23, starred for Arsenal on Wednesday night as The Gunners beat Liverpool 2-1 thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson – cancelling out Sadio Mane’s opener.

Scotland defender Tierney clocked up his 20th outing for the Gunners, keeping Mo Salah quiet. ESPN have claimed that Tierney was told to tone down his training intensity when he first joined, by some of his teammates.

Those teammates had got used to relaxed sessions under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery, with Tierney training as he played – something he learned to do at Celtic. Keown praised Tierney, and stated he should not apologise.

“I was told the players told him to tone it down,” Keown said. “I would have said, ‘this is how I train’. I worse screw-in boots in training and Thierry Henry would go berserk because he thought I was trying to kick him in training.

“He shouldn’t apologise for it. That should be the level of training, the training pitch used to be white hot – very competitive. It’s good to have that type of person and I’m pleased at what he is trying to recreate.”

TBR’s view – Tierney becoming Arsenal fan favourite

These reports have worked in Tierney’s favour. Not only has the left-back starred since the restart after overcoming a shoulder injury, but it is clear that the Scottish ace is shoring up a leaky Arsenal defence.

He is becoming crucial to Mikel Arteta’s new-look Arsenal. If his training intensity is high, then his teammates should match that – rather than asking him to tone it down. Keown is bang on.