Arsenal: Failure to sign Kieran Tierney would reawaken fans’ frustrations

After the signing of Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal fans are finally happy. But if the club fails to sign Kieran Tierney, the now, eliminated frustrations will resurface.

For the first time in a long time, the majority of Arsenal fans are quite happy. The official announcement of Nicolas Pepe for a reported £72 million has left the supporters in a state of glee. However, there is still certainly a great deal of work to be done in the summer transfer window.

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The priority going into the summer was the defence, and just because the club has managed to sign a top-class winger in Pepe, that does not mean that the desperation for defensive reinforcements has spontaneously disappeared. It hasn’t.

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One name that has been linked to a north London move throughout the entire summer is Kieran Tierney. The Scottish left-back has reportedly been ‘close’ to a move since the very opening of the summer window, but Arsenal are seemingly struggling to strike a deal with Tierney’s current club, Celtic. The need for a defender is major, and especially a left-back, and fans are well aware of the threat of failure. If the club is unable to complete their summer-long pursuit of Tierney, fans’ currently eliminated frustrations will resurface and the negativity will make an unnecessary return.

Given the fact that the Gunners have been linked to Tierney for months, there is no excuse for not securing his services. A left-back is a major need of the team, with Sead Kolasinac’s defensive deficiencies a major vulnerability and Nacho Monreal’s depreciating athleticism forcing him to play more at centre-back than on the flank. Tierney is the ideal candidate to fill this void.

The young, highly thought of Scottish defender may not seem like the most important signing when the need of a center-back is still so evident, but left-back is still a major issue, especially in providing balance to the team. Moreover, the fact that Arsenal have been chasing the player for so long shows that they rate him highly and deem him as the perfect addition to a questionable defense.

Most importantly, however,, Celtic have placed a mere £25 million price on his services. In the current market, that is an absolute steal given his talent and his potential. Tierney, remember, only turned 22 years old this summer and has already won three Scottish Premier League titles and featured in the Champions League.

Times have been good. Over seasons past, supporters have lost any trace of confidence they had in the board, and even worse, the team. The performances on and off the pitch have been embarrassing, so the surprising addition of Pepe, a player who many believed would be out of reach, has seemingly instilled a new lease of life into the Emirates.

But now the board must do whatever they can to maintain the supporters’ faith. There is a positive feeling right now, but it won’t last forever. In the long term, that means consistently bringing in players to better the squad; in the short term, that means securing the services of Kieran Tierney.