ARSENAL endured a major blow in their defeat against Liverpool with a potentially serious injury to left-back Kieran Tierney.
The Scot, 23, limped off with a knee problem at the end of the first half in the 3-0 loss following an awkward clash with James Milner.
Tierney is now being assessed by medical staff and has undergone a scan to determine the severity of the injury.
The former Celtic man is likely to be sidelined for a few weeks and miss both legs of Arsenal’s Europa League quarter-final with Slavia Prague.
Tierney remains Mikel Arteta’s only natural left-back and his absence is likely to mean Cedric Soares or Bukayo Saka could fill the void.
But his absence could prove to be a blessing in disguise judging by the stats.
Arsenal’s record is actually better without Tierney despite the popular star impressing throughout his debut campaign in the Premier League.
According to Opta, they average 1.6 points per game without the left-back compared to 1.3 when he is in the side.
That includes three wins in seven matches and losing twice with a win percentage of 42.9 compared to 39.1.
Arsenal also average 1.4 goals per game without Tierney compared to 1.3 with.
But the most damning stat of all is Arsenal are conceding less goals when Tierney is sidelined with one goal against compared to 1.2.
On Saturday boss Arteta admitted he didn’t know how long Tierney would be out of action for.
The Spaniard said: “Kieran felt something in his knee.
“He was in pain so it looks like he will be injured but we don’t know how long for.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
