Arsenal: Kieran Tierney injury devastating for many reasons

Kieran Tierney is set to miss three months after dislocating his shoulder in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over West Ham United. The injury is devastating, for a whole multitude of reasons.

Stop me if you have heard this story before: Arsenal star returns from extended injury set-back, just begins to look match sharp, then suffers another, entirely unrelated long-term injury that will see him miss the majority of the season. I thought so.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — A Christmas Miracle

That is precisely what is happening with latest signing, Kieran Tierney. After suffering a sports hernia issue at the tail end of last season and arriving in north London injured, Tierney had only just returned to the first team in the past few weeks. Prior to Monday’s win over West Ham United, he had only made three starts and played the full 90 minutes just once.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Tierney started on Monday night and played 29 minutes. He then crumpled to the floor, clasping his right shoulder. He was in serious pain. His match was over. Sead Kolasinac replaced him and Tierney wandered off, his arm rested in his shirt like a sling. As someone who has dislocated their shoulder on many occasions and undergone surgery to fix the issue, I can tell you how painful and debilitating it is. And based on the position of his shoulder and how he was holding his arm, it was quite clear: Tierney had dislocated his shoulder.

On Wednesday, Arsenal confirmed as much. In their customary team news statement, they revealed that Tierney had dislocated his shoulder and was undergoing further investigations to discover the severity of the situation and whether surgery would be required. At the same time, James Olley of the London Evening Standard reported that Tierney is expected to miss three months.

It is devastating news. Obviously, there is the immediate disappointment for Tierney, who is in his first season at the club and is still working his way up to full fitness and form following a summer on the sidelines. But it is also a major problem for the team, both in the present and moving forward.

In the short term, Arsenal are now very short on left-backs. Kolasinac is the only natural option, and with the games coming thick and fast over the festive period, it would have been nice to rotate between two players at the position. But there are also serious ramifications when looking at the situation with a longer-term perspective.

The importance of full-back position has been laid bare with the Gunners’ lacklustre options at both right-back and left-back since Hector Bellerin suffered an ACL tear a little under a year ago. Unai Emery struggled to implement an effective system, in part, because of his sub-standard personnel at full-back. With Tierney now unavailable and Bellerin still finding his fitness and form, Freddie Ljungberg — and potentially whoever the new head coach will be — faces the same difficulties.

It is a freak injury and the most important response is wishing Tierney well in his recovery. But it could have devastating effects, on Tierney, his playing future, and the club.