Arsenal vs Benfica: Kieran Tierney a cornerstone for greatness

When it’s backs against the wall and adversity is staring you square in the face, the stage is set for a grand finale. Against Benfica, Arsenal were left to praise the continued wizardry of Bukayo Saka and the sharp movement of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. And, of course, Kieran Tierney.

The Scot had been absent for seven of an eight-match stretch, only returning as a substitute in the first leg before playing the full 90 minutes against City. He said it himself, he was shattered.

Ten minutes into Thursday night’s victory and already he was blowing. At that early stage fatigue looked certain to cut his night short in the second half. Concerns over his reliability at the back were raised as Benfica found some early joy on his flank.

One should never doubt Kieran Tierney.

Kieran Tierney is a cornerstone of the future Mikel Arteta is building towards at Arsenal

Reversing the notion of tiredness, he looked fitter as the encounter wore on. Whether running on fumes or on the cusp of a breakdown, he searches deep in his reverse tank and ploughs on.

He kept bombarding down the left flank to provide the width that Emile Smith Rowe couldn’t offer, overlapping with a regularity that wasn’t always matched with the deserving quality of delivery. Despite a few wayward balls, he was stretching the game more than anyone else, plugging away with his crosses and cut-backs without any signs of unrelenting.

Then, in Arsenal’s time of need, he rifled an effort in across goal, dragging his side back into the tie with the might he has become synonymous with.

A side is being built around the generational Bukayo Saka, reinforced by a spine of Gabriel and Thomas Partey and enlivened by the creative nous of Smith Rowe, Tierney’s role in the future of this side bears equal importance.

He is a cornerstone of the structure being built. This side has been propped up and held afloat by youthful exuberance, a conversation that often overlooks him. After all, he is only 23. And even at that age, he is among the best left-backs in the country. Put it this way, if he was English – a prospect he would, of course, shiver at the thought of – he’d be straight in Gareth Southgate’s England side. No question of that.

Among the building blocks moving forward, none are sturdier than Tierney.