Kieran Tierney told Arsenal still adore him as passionate Mikel Arteta assures Celtic hero 'you are in my plans'

Insistent Mikel Arteta claims Kieran Tierney remains in his Arsenal plans as he made it clear the wanted left-back is a man he hopes will stay in North London.

The Scotland international is admired by former club Celtic with Brendan Rodgers refusing to shut the door on a blockbuster return for a player who headed to the Gunners in a £25m deal in 2019. Newcastle and Aston Villa are also admirers but the Spaniard is refusing to let the 26-year-old go without a fight. Arsenal fans have been left miffed by Tierney's reduced role during pre-season despite catching the eye every time he enters the action. But the Spaniard agrees with the rave reviews and believes the role of Tierney as a cameo king is indicative of the rising standards at the club.

And Arteta is insistent he has full belief in the rampaging left-back. He said: "He is, he is in our plans, and as you said, he came on really well (on Saturday). It's not the first time, every time he's played in pre-season, he's been really good. This is why we want to create competition in the team, raise the level of each individual and that's going to be a huge benefit for the team to get to another level."

It comes after Tierney opened up on his reduced role and what he is aiming to achieve with the Gunners moving forward. He said: "I'm happy, I'm working hard every day and getting minutes. I'm just trying to do as well as I can.

"You can't play every single game, every single season, every single year. I don't expect that and I still made a lot of appearances last year. I was ready every game and working 100 per cent. I think everyone in there would agree with that, that I never give less than that whether I'm playing or not."

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