Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta allays Kieran Tierney injury fears saying there is ‘no problem’

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted Kieran Tierney is uninjured despite the defender being substituted just 30 minutes into Arsenal’s first pre-season friendly on Friday.

Tierney, 25, underwent knee surgery in March, surgery that ended his season two months early.

Cedric Soares took the place of the Scot in defense, but Arteta, via Subwayinsisted it had always been planned to take Tierney off in the first half and was in “great form”.

Mikel Arteta eased any injury concerns after the game, admitting the withdrawal was planned

Tierney faced German second division club FC Nuremberg on Friday but his withdrawal left Arsenal fans worried after several injury problems for the full-back.

He made just 22 Premier League starts last season, less than 60% of appearances.

After joining Arsenal for £25m in 2019, he managed just 12 starts in his debut season in the Premier League.

Tierney has been plagued with injury problems since joining Arsenal from Celtic in 2019

After the game, which Arsenal won 5-3, Arteta said: “He’s really good, he’s trained really well.

“Obviously he’s been out for over three months now, so we wanted to give him a good warm-up, play the first half hour and then get him out.” So it was in good condition and there is no problem there.

Arsenal are reportedly aiming to bolster their left-back options this transfer window, with Tierney struggling with injuries and Nuno Tavares linked with loan moves to Atalanta and Marseille.

The Gunners are keeping tabs on Lisandro Martinez but face competition from several rivals, including Manchester United.