Neil Lennon believes Mikel Arteta should and will rely more on Kieran Tierney as Arsenal look to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title.
Arsenal currently have an eight-point lead over City in the table, though they have played a game more, as we enter the final phase of the season.
There is real belief that the Gunners can end their 19-year wait for a league title, though they have a lot of tricky fixtures remaining, including matches at Liverpool, City and Newcastle and home clashes against Chelsea and Brighton.
With no other competitions left to play in, Arteta doesn’t have to worry about rotating his team a lot, bar for injuries, with the in-form Oleksandr Zinchenko set to keep his place at left-back.
However, Lennon thinks that the manager could actually bench the Ukraine star in favour of the more defensively minded Tierney, with the need to keep things tight at the back more pressing than ever before.
‘I think he will be used between now and the end of the season and I think he is going to play a massive part in Mikel’s plans,’ Lennon, who managed Tierney at Celtic, said whilst speaking about Old Firm Derby betting.
‘I watched him play left centre-half for Scotland against Spain and he was outstanding. He’s a brilliant player who has struggled with niggly injuries over the years and you hope he can get a good run of games.
‘I really think he is a top defender and I think the closer Arsenal get towards the end of the season, the more or a role I think he will play. I like Zinchenko and I think he is a fabulous player, but I’m not convinced he’s as good a defender as Kieran.
‘I think he is actually likely to play at the Etihad against Man City, he may not have as soft feet as Zinchenko – who can manipulate the ball in tight areas – Kieran is more of a dynamic player who drives teams up the pitch.
‘But he is a brilliant defender, who still has a lot to offer Arsenal and Mikel, which will certainly be in the back of his mind as well.’
Tierney has actually been tipped to leave Arsenal in the summer due to his lack of game time, with Newcastle heavily linked with the 25-year-old.
For now though, he’ll look to help the Gunners in any way that he can until the end of the season, with Lennon reckoning that the title race is still too close to call and will go down to the very last game.
The former Man City player added: ‘I think everyone has been asking the question of Arsenal all season. They’ve had their little wobble and lost games to Everton and then to Man City, but they’ve reacted so well and won every game since then.
‘The title credentials are there and City have had their own problems there. The balance of the team, at times, has just not looked right.
‘Pep has fluctuated sometimes between a three and a four with the inverted full-backs. It has worked at times, but they also haven’t been as consistent and met that incredibly high bar.
‘Liverpool aren’t in the greatest of form, but that will be a test for Arsenal away this weekend. Something still in the back of my mind is saying this will go down right to the wire.
‘Arsenal have that cushion, but they still have to go to the Etihad. If City win their game in hand, it is five points.
‘Suddenly, if they win at the Etihad that gap is now shaved down to two. You just can never write City off with the coach and the players and the mentality they have.
‘They’ve found a groove again and they are winning games really well, just like at the weekend. They are one of the best teams in Europe in that form, if not the best.’
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