Kieran Tierney Reveals how Gabriel Martinelli made him realise difference between English & Scottish football

Tierney joined Arsenal from Celtic in the summer of 2019 and the left-back says he felt the difference in tempo straight from the first training. He realised that after playing against Martinelli in training.

Speaking to Open Goal Podcast, Kieran Tierney was asked about the difference between the Scottish and English football.

“The first couple of sessions, the tempo,” the 23-year-old replied. “The first session, I was against Martinelli, he’s a young boy, I knew he was good. Then I said, ‘Woah, this is the standard, he is unbelievable!’”

Martinelli has proved to be a tireless runner. He instilled fear in rivals' defender throughout the season running at them at full speed and quite successfully as he often managed to retrieve the ball.

The South American kid delivered a superb maiden campaign replicating Nicola Anelka's record as he became the first teenager since the Frenchman in 1998/99 to score 10 plus goals in a single season.

Unfortunately, we won't see him this year again as he underwent surgery but we'll be looking forward to his return. And surely the 19-year-old can go very far to become a world-class star.

As for Tierney, the Scotsman has proved his worth in the second part of the season becoming a key performer of Mikel Arteta's team. The left-back is a very intelligent player and equally good at defending and going forward.

Hopefully, he stays injury-free to show his true potential next season.