Kieran Tierney’s Euro 2024 is over after he left the pitch Wednesday night on a stretcher needing gas and air to support him.
While we await confirmation on how serious his injury is, he won’t be kicking another ball in the tournament.
While Arsenal will never publicly admit this, they will only care about how this latest setback impacts on the left back’s value. If he’s on the sidelines long term it will force the player to remain a Gunner longer then employer and employee intended. The more issues the defender has it equally becomes difficult to find a club willing to invest a transfer fee and wages on a talent who isn’t reliable.
When fit the 27-year-old remains our best left back in the art of defending. The key word is when.
Although unlucky how his foot got planted on the field, events in Germany will confirm why Mikel Arteta doesn’t consider the Scot in his long-term plans. He can’t be trusted to remain healthy and that’s been the case heading back to his Celtic days.
He’s not the only one ….
Sadly, in putting together this list there are so many names I could have included.
I decided the criteria will be who’s injury seriously impacted on their career?
Matthew Upson – 1997-2003
Not just unlucky in terms of an anterior cruciate ligament injury followed by a broken leg, the timing was horrible on the defender.
Having used loan moves to prove his fitness the centre back played 22 times in our 2002 Double Winning season. This put Upson in pole position to fill the upcoming vacancy left by Tony Adam’s impending retirement. The leg break ended that dream with the 23 year-old never playing in the League for us again.
Proved at Birmingham and West Ham he could have offered something to us.
Lauren – 2000-2007
The most successful African ever to be a Gunner, Lauren was out for a year in 2006 with a knee issue.
He and the club were able to downplay the issue enough to convince Portsmouth to invest in the right back when in reality he had no business being on the pitch anymore.
Van Bronckhorst – 2001-2004
Despite lifting the Premier League and 2 FA Cups in North London it’s clear the Dutchman never quite felt part of the furniture at Highbury, having suffered cruciate ligament damage in his debut season in England.
The one positive is it forced him to change position which rejuvenated his career. By the time he regained fitness there was no room in midfield, so Mr Wenger asked him to fill in at left back.
This would be his role for the rest of his career, eventually winning the Champions League ironically against Arsenal.
Van Persie 2004-2012
One of the reasons many Gooners were so hurt by Van Persie’s exit to Old Trafford was, while appreciating his goals almost single handedly keeping us in the top 4 in 2011- 2012, that felt like his only season as a Gunner where he stayed fit for a whole campaign.
For the majority of his 8 years in North London the striker always seemed to have long spells on the sidelines.
Mr Wenger showed patience that other managers wouldn’t have shown to give the Dutchman the stage to prove his ability.
Theo Walcott 2006-2018
Often accused as being ‘too nice’ for the sport, Theo Walcott doesn’t get enough credit for the mental strength he kept showing.
It felt like in his 12 years as a Gunner he never had a settled season. Every time he got on a roll there would be a setback.
As a teenager he required shoulder surgery, and his most serious injury was tearing a cruciate ligament which meant he missed an FA Cup Final and a World Cup.
Each time he showed resilience to bounce back but couldn’t be relied on to be the central striker he wanted to be.
Too many muscle strains meant that by his late twenties he had lost his biggest weapon …. his pace.
Abou Diaby
Statistically one of most injured players in the history of the division, missing 314 games with 21 different injuries.
Sadly, he’s become more famous for that then for anything he did on the pitch.
Predicted at the time and since as the ‘next Patrick Viera’ Arsene Wenger gave him every opportunity to prove the midfielder could stay healthy, but in reality, his body never recovered from when his ankle was fractured at Sunderland.
He would require numerous operations over the years to try and fix it.
In loyalty he wouldn’t find elsewhere, Diaby was even given a contract extension when he had been unavailable for over 300 days.
That’s how much his manager recognised his talent if he could stay fit.
In his last two seasons at the Emirates the Frenchman played in the Prem…..once
Rosicky 2006- 2016
The midfielder didn’t play enough in his decade in England to be considered a great but in many ways that’s exactly why he’s a cult hero.
Gooners and his peers recognised when he was on the pitch what a talent he was. The key word though being when.
Beginning with in 2008 with torn tendons in his knees which was career threatening, the Czech would miss in total 990 days of action.
There were still moments that will last forever such as two goals in North London Derbies and lifting two FA Cups.
If he had stayed fit would have been one of our best players but sadly his final 12 months in North London summed up his entire spell, he didn’t play a minute in the League. The second season that had happened to him.
He was essentially being paid to sit at home for a year.
Eduardo 2007-2010
Sadly, there was a period where too many of our players were victims of leg breaking tackles.
Arsenal were 5 points clear at the top of the table when they went to Birmingham in February 2008 with Eduardo in red hot form.
It’s often been cited that a young dressing room didn’t have the mentality to recover from the striker having his fibula broken and ankle dislocated. An injury so sickening it’s never been shown on TV.
While other Gunners recovered from leg breaks to play for years, Mr Wenger clearly felt his forward had lost his powers when he returned a year later.
Thomas Vermaelen 2009-2014
Started his Arsenal career on fire. A goal scoring defender with obvious leadership qualities, he was the natural choice for captain when Van Persie left.
Yet in what became a worrying occurrence, Mr Wenger wasn’t transparent when the Belgian was injured (either unwilling or on purpose).
First, we were told our skipper was out for a few weeks, then the season, then he required surgery on an Achilles problem.
He missed 267 games meaning when it was confirmed we had accepted an offer from Barcelona, it seemed a good deal for all parties.
He would play 34 times in La Liga in 4 seasons.
Oxlade Chamberlain 2011-2017
It’s never been explained why so many of our British youngsters at this time had so many injury issues, but the Ox is another player who never seemed to have a season free from niggles.
It’s why many Gooners were happy to take 35 million for a talent with only 12 months left on his deal. While the man himself expressed wanting more opportunities to prove he could play as a CM, he was never fit enough to prove that at the Emirates or Anfield. He missed 180 games.
There’s a reason why at the age of 30 he’s now playing in Turkey.
Cazorla 2012-2018
You could make a movie regarding Cazorla’s story both in terms of his injury in 2016 and his recovery.
At the age of 32, at the peak of his powers the Spaniard suffered an injury which was assumed would keep him out for a few weeks.
Little did we know that night he went off in the Champions League that we would never see him play for Arsenal again!
He would require 8 operations on his ankle and nearly lost his leg when he contracted gangrene.
Having been told by more than one doctor he was in danger of never walking again, an eventual return to Villarreal and being capped again by Spain is one of football’s great stories.
Jack Wilshere 2008-2018
One of the saddest names on this list as Super Jack was playing against the likes of Xavi and Iniesta in a manner which suggested he would be a future captain for club and country.
Having missed 214 games, he’s in the Premier League’s top 4 for most injured player.
He spent the final years trying to prove his fitness but mentally it took him a while to accept what the rest had accepted.
His mind was still willing, but his body was not.
