Kieran Tierney is a superb footballer; maybe even world-class, depending on your definition. His recent performances for Scotland, particularly his now-already-famous contribution to Scott McTominay's satisfying volley against Spain, serve to outline what we already know; that Tierney can do, and has done, this type of thing for years. We're almost not surprised. The good news? At 26, he can only get better, but he's not what you think he is, or was, because whatever he is, he's not a position, because players aren't positions. This is the evolution of Kieran Tierney.
In our previous article on KT, in May 2020, we found through observation, that being left-side of a back 3 was a position in which he could flourish for both Arsenal and Scotland. Strong defensively, we showed through clips of the semi-final against Man City, that KT can break the lines in this position, either with incisive (and risky) passing or by dribbling at speed.
The emergence of the new KT
And excel, he did. Registering consistently high performances as well as the odd goal contribution, before winning the FA Cup with Arsenal; alongside multiple assists and the most heroic of goal-saving clearances with Scotland. This was a new setting for his talents, but you have to say, it suited him.
Hero, yes. But much, much more.
Tierney was great then, in fact, he's been great since he was 18, and, if anything, he is only better now. So why is he not playing regularly for Arsenal? We'll get there…
Acknowledging recent trivia, he has just been clocked as the fastest defender in the Premier League this season at an astonishing 35.99 km/h (Squawka, April 2023). He's also strong, and at 5' 10", better than many give him credit for in the air. His physical strengths, and stamina, can be seen in the previously mentioned goal against Spain.
Ooft. Just, ooft.
Pressuring and anticipating, Tierney steps in with his right foot, before carrying past the opponent with his left. He has that initial burst of speed, with green grass ahead of him, but he can't keep going at this pace, and this is where many in his position are caught up. Simply put, it's not just about being the fastest, there is an ebb and sway to statistical strength, and it is simply very difficult to run away from defenders, at pace, when you have the ball, and they do not. Tierney knows this, and does what only assured dribblers can do, slowing down before shifting into a new gear altogether and, well, burning Carvahal in the process. This is why the Real Madrid man looked so slow in this instance. He's chasing the fastest defender in the Premier League, except only now, he's caught the breath he used to win the ball back. Excellent full back play, you'd think, and you'd be right. Except, Kieran tierney isn't a full back anymore. At least not in the conventional sense.
- Courtesy of FotMob, April 2023
It might be premature to say that (alongside Greg Taylor ;-)) Oleksander Zincenko is "reinventing the full-back" in the same way as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, but the Ukranian is often cited as the reason KT is not playing. So, is this true? Is Zincenko simply a better player than the Scot?
Like most things, it's not that simple.
It is popularly understood that Zincenko plays as a left back in defensive blocks and transitions, but in attacking transitions and, in particular, in possession, Zincenko comes infield, adopting a deep-lying playmaker role. He touches the ball often, bounces passes in short spaces, and often finds the pass before the assist.
He's no full-back, then, either.
It is often further understood, incorrectly, that because Zincenko's qualities are not Tierney's, KT must be 'the opposite' of his teammate. We're aware of this binary, polarised thinking in political discourse, of course, but just because a=a, this does not mean b≠a. You need to know the value of both before making a judgment. Both can be valuable. Both can be quality. It's not an either/or.
Across the Twittersphere, Arsenal fans, and Scotland fans who recall KT's time at Celtic, assume that he is the same 'overlapping full-back' who utilised his speed and showing of the ball to dummy before hitting the byline for a telling cross. They associate this with the shirt-tucked in, hard as nails, no-nonsense 'full back' as they understand it. This is the KT they remember.
But KT, has been much more than this for a long time.
Whether as a victim of his own strengths (he could play LCB whilst Robertson could not), or in the protection of recurring injuries (he needed to change to a position less reliant on constant sprinting); KT had become comfortable as a very unique LCB. - a role he is reprising with increasing quality for Scotland.
I'm reluctant to label it as LCB, because he does far more than just head it away, or pass to the full-back (both of which he does very well).
I'm more tempted to call him a deep-lying attacking libero. And this is the sharp left turn.
Franco Baresi, Franz Beckenbauer, Ronald Koeman; all defenders who could start attacks by backing their own unique qualities.
They broke the lines because they redefined the lines by carrying the ball and becoming the attacking transition. They manifested the transition.
Considering what we know about KT, let's look down one lens as an example.
He is the fastest defender in the league. Utilising this extreme strength, he dribbles at pace as well as anyone out of defence and through the first line. If he offloads the ball wide to Robertson, he can continue the untracked run via an under/overlap, overloading the position he is in.
In possession, and attacking transitions, let us actually suggest KT to be the catalyst for everything good Scotland do on the left side. This is also true regarding John McGinn on the right side, especially when Nathan Patterson is playing, but let's stay on the left for the time being.
Alongside Robertson, he needs a Stuart Armstrong, or a Ryan Christie, someone who can complete the triangle (see above goal). This leads to ball retention, which, in turn moves and works the opposition as the trio constantly looking for that space. For example, against Cyprus at home, this was the constant threat, and the reason Scotland scored their first goal. Before it came off, Scotland had worked it multiple times, and Tierney was central as any member of the triangle, whether underlapping, overlapping, or playing the pass.
It's against Spain where this is most interesting, however, and it is coached to perfection. As with Cyprus, the goal starts with Tierney playmaking from deep, being a 'libero'. Christie is told to stay high and wide, and Pedro Porro doesn't want to mark him too tightly in case Tierney threads a ball through to the third player, Robertson in both instances. Look carefully and you'll see that Robertson does this with Liverpool, typically if a wide run hasn't come off, he lingers in between the full-back and centre half, occupying two players. For the Cyprus goal, he's given the ball before he comes inside, but that's where he was going. For Spain, He's already come inside and Christie plays a poor pass up the line, which Robertson harries, resulting in the assist. Tierney starts both moves by strolling out of defence. He can only do this because he is strong at winning the ball back high up, attacking the first ball, excellent at dribbling, excellent at passing, and has the pace to recover if turned.
Arsenal are not Scotland, but for the Gunners, Gabriel Martinelli occupies the wide-forward role that Scotland doesn't have. Zincenko holds possession as the deep-lying pivot, and Martin Odegaard/Gabriel Jesus completes the complement. In short, Zincenko is asked to give the ball to Martinelli in threatening positions so the Brazilian can beat a player 1-1. Scotland don't do this. Scotland, well, nowadays, Scotland play beautifully incisive football to get in behind.
Tierney won't displace Martinelli as the wide forward, nor Zincenko as the deep-lying pivot. He certainly won't play upfront, or behind the striker, as Odegaard does.
So where will he play?
This is where you shouldn't be surprised if a Manchester City, as recently reported by Football Scotland, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich come calling because KT really is that good. It's why Carlo Ancelotti has previously described him as 'a really good player' (The Herald, 2019), and it won't have escaped the old master's notice that KT made one of his current full-backs look distinctly amateur at Hampden. The problem here is not KT's ability, or that he is 'worse' than Zincenko. The problem is in Arsenal's remarkable season under a system and manager where discipline and specific roles are essential.
He doesn't 'fit' Mikael Arteta's system, and, as a student of Pep Guardiola, Arteta is very regimented regarding his system, anal-retentive, some would say - but who could argue with it this season? Tierney's attributes and personal qualities are such that a manager who trusts in his individualised expression, in this 'deep-lying libero' role, is where he needs to find freedom - and we can credit Steve Clarke for the development of this. This is why we cite Ancelotti here, it's not sensationalism, it's referring to a manager who is famed for his man management - the 'personal touch'. It's why Ancelotti baffles statisticians.
Scott McTominay's recent goalscoring exploits are because of one man's simple, almost childlike direction, "you need to smile more". So simple. It surely can't be that simple! ...Can it? In my work as a further education tutor, I've read a lot of papers, and found one thing to be true again and again in research; genius is found often hewn from the most simple observations. You can hear this in the post-Spain interview with McTominay, that Steve Clarke knew exactly what to say, and it made a profound impact. McTominay thought about it. It did something... it eased the tension, baby.
KT needs that same love. We all do. "Kieran, you are not a position, you're far too good to be limited by that. You need to play your game. Here are the reasons why. Here are the blocks and tackles, goals and assists, interceptions and dribbles. Here are the victories, trophies, and caps."
If not at Arsenal, just wait until you see KT next season. It'll be at a big club. It might not be as a 'deep-lying attacking libero'. But whatever lingo is used, he'll be incredible, because he is.
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