Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has backed former Celtic defender Kieran Tierney to be a success at Arsenal with the pair set to be reunited when their current employers meet on Saturday evening.
Rodgers and Tierney had a hugely successful stint together in Scotland and will be on opposing sides for the first time since the ex-Bhoys manager departed Celtic Park for the King Power stadium last February and with the player now at the Emirates following a £25million move in August.
Rodgers has nothing but praise for Tierney as he said:
“As a player, in the first week working with him, I could see after two or three days why there was a lot of clamour for him.
“From that moment he was absolutely brilliant for me. He became stronger, more powerful, very aggressive in his game.
“He worked hard every single day but he was also a strong boy mentally, and he had a lot of good mentors. Scott Brown was an incredible captain for me, and he (Tierney) took on that mantle to try and be like him.
“Every day in training he was very focused on becoming better, and obviously he loved Celtic as a club. He supported the club, and that gave him that extra one percent every time he played.
“So as a player he was fantastic, and he captained the team for me on a few occasions as well, but also a great boy, very humble, just wanting to be the very best he can be.”
Arsenal’s move for Tierney was three years in the making as they approached Celtic for the now 22-year-old in Rodgers’ first week in charge of the club in May 2016.
“Peter (Lawwell, chief executive) had said to me – and he was very honest about it – there was a possibility of Kieran going to Arsenal, but there was no rush for Celtic to sell him, and there was a big offer at the time,” added Rodgers.
“So I spoke to Kieran, told him I wanted him to stay, to be a big part of what we were doing, and between him and the club, a new deal was agreed, and he stayed until he went in the summer.
“He’s gone into Arsenal, a really competitive team and a huge club, and it takes that little bit of time to settle.
“He’s gone from one big city to another, leaving behind his family and friends in Glasgow, so it’s been a period of adaptation for him.
“I’ve got no doubt he will do very, very well in his time.”
Arsenal travel to the King Power Stadium this weekend, six points behind the third-placed Leicester with Unai Emery’s position under increased scrutiny after a run of just three wins in nine games.
The Foxes are in superb form heading into his one having won seven of their last eight games in all competitions, including a record-breaking 9-0 away win against Southampton.
And in his pre-match press conference, Rodgers delivered more positive news for Leicester fans.
“Everyone is fit and fine,” the Northern Irishman said.
Rodgers also delivered an update on long-term absentee Matty James, who wasn’t named in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad at the start of the season.
The 28-year-old midfielder has played just once in the past 18 months and was forced to go under the knife in the summer to undergo an operation on his Achilles after aggravating a previous problem in pre-season training.
He added: “Matty has been out with the squad,” said Rodgers. “He’s doing certain elements of training then he’ll go away and do his individual work.
“He is a miss, Matty, he’s just been so unfortunate. In terms of how I want to work and my ideas for the team, he gets it 100 percent. He’s just been really unfortunate with injuries and that’s affected his physicality.
Arsenal goes to the King Power Stadium with a poor recent record, having lost in their last two visits (3-1 in May 2018 and 3-0 in April 2019), so they will be looking to avoid a third straight defeat.