KIERAN TIERNEY enhanced his captain credentials yet again with a mature performance full of bite and passion against Norwich.
Alexandre Lacazette is currently wearing the armband after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lost that honour when he arrived back late from an agreed leave of absence.
But both strikers could well be moving on in the summer, if not next month.
Lacazette is out of contract at the end of the season and there has been no movement with those negotiations.
And Aubameyang may never get over being banished from the squad and stripped of the captaincy.
The Gunners will be desperate to save on his £250,000-a-week wages if he cannot get into the starting XI.
Barcelona have been linked with swooping for the 32-year-old striker.
But Arsenal fans don’t need to worry. Captain Tierney is waiting in the wings.
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When fit, the Scot is undoubtedly one of the first names on Mikel Arteta‘s teamsheet.
And it is the intensity and passion he plays the game with that have made him a fans’ favourite ever since he signed from Celtic in 2009 for £25m.
Arteta clearly knows how important the 24-year-old is to his plans going forward.
Tierney was handed a new FIVE-YEAR contract this summer and a pay rise to £110,000 a week.
And next season, it would be no surprise to see Tierney sporting a special bit of fabric on his arm.
Fans would welcome Tierney being named captain. Just look at the emotion and passion etched on his face after he smashed home Arsenal’s second against Norwich.
Tierney plays as if he is a boyhood Gunners fan desperate to impress and fight for the shirt.
You’d imagine Arteta has to urge him to go home after training – he probably even helps clear the cones away.
Arsenal need 11 leaders out there on the pitch to match fans’ expectations. Arteta needs to make Tierney the chief of his staff.
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