Steve Clarke admits frustration over Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney

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Steve Clarke has admitted his frustration after being asked by Arsenal not to include Kieran Tierney in his latest Scotland squad, in comments reported by the Daily Mail.

Tierney has not been included in a Scotland squad since March having spent much of the year recovering from injury.

He is now playing for the Gunners. And some Scotland fans may have been hoping that he may be involved for the games against Cyprus and Kazakhstan later this month.

However, Clarke has confirmed that he was asked by the Premier League side not to include Tierney in his ranks as the former Celtic man continues his comeback from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“Kieran has got an ongoing issue that Arsenal are keen to address in the next international break and Arsenal asked us not to select him,” he said, as reported by the Mail.

“It’s a little bit frustrating. It’s obviously frustrating for Kieran as well, but we’ve got good cover in that position.”

TBR View – Arsenal doing the right thing

Unfortunately, it has been a nightmare campaign for Scotland. They already know that the play-off spot secured through the Nations League provides their only potential route to Euro 2020.

So it looks to be a sensible decision from Arsenal. It is too risky to let him feature in these games when there is little to gain from his involvement.

Tierney has given Arsenal fans reason for optimism during the opening stages of his Emirates career. Another injury for the left-back will not help Unai Emery, particularly if it came while he was away with Scotland.