This interview with Kieran Tierney is from the Euro 2020 preview issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe now and never miss an issue!
You get the impression Kieran Tierney is rather selling himself short when he sums up what he brings to the table for club and country. As fans of Scotland, Celtic and now Arsenal will gladly tell you, there’s a lot more to him than mere ‘determination’.
Wholehearted displays – coupled with hysteria around the wearing of t-shirts in cold weather and carrying his football boots in a supermarket carrier bag – might be enough to earn you cult hero status, but not the acclaim that has come his way from team-mates and onlookers alike.
If English fans were still to be convinced about a player who had spent his entire career in Scotland, it didn’t take long for them to buy into the hype after he joined Arsenal in August 2019. Tierney is a serious talent with an insatiable appetite for self-improvement – and now the 23-year-old has a chance to prove it with his beloved country at a European Championship.
Look out, England: someone has revenge on their mind...
You were synonymous with Celtic from an early age, but now you’ve established yourself in English football. How do you look back on what was a big call?
I knew that going to Arsenal was a massive jump and that it would challenge me in ways that wouldn’t even have occurred to me beforehand. It’s not been easy, and the transition off the park was a lot harder than it was on it, but having had a bit of breathing space to reflect on things, it’s made me a better player and a better person. That’s the main objective in life, isn’t it? To be the best version of yourself that you can be.
What challenges stick out?
I think it’s fair to say that 90 per cent of the league wouldn’t have heard of me, and I was walking into a changing room of superstars. First and foremost, you have to impress them. I’d come all the way through the ranks at Celtic, so everyone there knew me inside-out, but Arsenal was a whole new world and I had it all to prove. What I’d done before suddenly didn’t count for anything.
I knew it would be hard, but I wanted to test myself at the highest possible level. You’re never in a comfort zone at Celtic – there’s constant pressure – but I was at home, surrounded by all my family and friends. I was at the club for 15 years of my life.
Did it take some getting used to, then?
Glasgow and London are completely different cities. Everything was new to me. It was doubly difficult because I was injured when I signed and taking a bit of stick back home for leaving Celtic. So, you have your moments when you miss your nearest and dearest. I didn’t know my team-mates too well at that stage, so it all adds up. There was a flicker of ‘what have I done?’ but that passed very quickly. I love it at Arsenal and I’m well looked-after. Time is also a healer and my love for Celtic will never change – I hope people realise that. The decision to leave was the hardest of my life.
Arsenal fans really seem to have taken to you, and you had that kind of relationship with the Celtic support. Talk us through the Tesco bag and t-shirts in the snow…
When my mates from back home saw the picture of me with my boots in a carrier bag, they were straight onto me. They said I had changed, because I’d gone from Aldi and Lidl to Tesco! Everyone else commenting seemed to be talking about how refreshing it was, but my mates were slaughtering me. It wasn’t something I’d thought twice about.
I had a pair of boots I had to take with me, and the only thing I had in the house was a Tesco bag. If they’re reading this, I’m still waiting on that endorsement deal! [Laughs] In terms of the t-shirts in cold weather, it’s as simple as wearing a jumper once for training when I was 15 and feeling restricted in it. I think it was snowing that night as well. I’ve worn t-shirts ever since and I’ve probably backed myself into a corner – if I suddenly went for a snood or some gloves, the medical team here would probably be concerned that I wasn’t feeling right...
We’ve seen you operate in different positions for Arsenal and for Scotland. Gordon Strachan once said that you take on information very quickly. What do you put it down to?
The thing I pride myself on is determination and the will to win. In that respect, it doesn’t matter if I’m at centre-back, left-back or wing-back. My focus is on not being beaten in a one-on-one situation or leaving a team-mate without support. If you win all of those little battles, it adds up. I might not be the best centre-back in the world or the best on the ball, but I have the determination to do the best I can. I’ll give my all – that’s probably the main thing I bring to any team. At the same time, you don’t play for a Mikel Arteta team if you don’t take in the tactical side of things. I try to listen to everything that he says and I feel fortunate to have worked with the managers I have done. They’ve all taught me something valuable.
Talk to us about that night in Serbia, when Scotland qualified for Euro 2020. What was going through your head?
Honestly? A mix of everything – raw emotion, relief and just a general feeling of weight being lifted from your shoulders. We knew, going into the game, that it was extremely important. The thing that sticks out for me in the build-up was the atmosphere around training through the week. It was so calm and relaxed, which sounds crazy given what was at stake. The gaffer and his staff deserve a lot credit for that. He’s a calming presence who gives you a feeling of being able to just go out and enjoy playing.
Scotland dominated the game in Belgrade, only to concede a 90th-minute equaliser. Did you think ‘here we go again’?
I think everyone was surprised by how that game went. We had a lot of the ball, we were passing with confidence and we were getting into the final third and creating chances, but their goal changed everything. Going into extra time, they suddenly had the momentum. We were tired and hanging on, but determined not to give it up. I remember before the penalties that the backroom staff and players who were in the stand came down to the park – there was such a togetherness on the night. It wasn’t just the team; I’m talking about the masseurs, physios – everyone. You don’t often experience something like that. I want to mention Graeme Jones, who is a legend: we speak most weeks and I look forward to seeing him on every international break. I’ve had some ups and downs and he has helped me so much. The chef, Johnny McCallum, is another, and there are many others I could mention. Trust me when I say that any one of them would have done whatever it took for the country that night. Everyone gave everything they had. Boys had knocks or were cramping up, but they pushed on. We dragged each other through it. Then we had six heroes in the shootout – the five takers and David Marshall in goal.
As a result, you’re likely to be the first player from the Isle of Man to play in a major tournament…
That’s something I take a lot of pride in, because it’s where my roots lie. I was born there, and I still have family there. It’s a great feeling. I’ve heard a few stats over the years about being the first from there to do this and that, but I’ll take this one. I actually looked into maybe playing for them before, but I was never sure about the rules; what tournaments they were eligible for, and if it would clash with my club and Scotland commitments. I would never rule it out.
You played in Scotland’s last meeting with England, in June 2017, when two Leigh Griffiths free-kicks could – and probably should – have earned a famous Hampden win. What do you remember of that game?
I sometimes find myself watching the anthems back. The camera cuts to the fans and it’s so loud. That memory will never leave me. It still hurts not to have won. We sat in the changing room, heads in hands. We were so close and should’ve won. Gordon Strachan picked us up and said how proud he was.
Is it a game you can play with a clear head?
Everyone will answer this one differently. First and foremost, you have to play with your head, but for me, so much of football is about playing with your heart. Whether it’s for your club or your country, determination can take you that extra yard. You can’t let emotions get the better of you, but they can fuel you if you channel it properly.
I appreciate that these are some of the best days of my life, so I want to take it all in.
This article first appeared in the June 2021 issue of FourFourTwo
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