Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin admitted that his side missed the speed and creativity Kieran Tierney brings to the team during their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Mikel Arteta’s side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games with the draw on Thursday night, but spent much of Thursday night’s game struggling to break down a defensive and aggressive Palace side.
The Arsenal manager was forced to start Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left-back after a last-minute injury to Tierney, but the 23-year-old defender struggled to offer much going forward and was replaced by Nicolas Pepe in the second half.
No Arsenal player has created more big chances in the Premier League than Kieran Tierney this season.
— FootballCritic (@CriticFootball_) January 14, 2021
When asked to explain Arsenal’s inability to score, Bellerin noted a lack of creativity in the side and accepted that Tierney’s absence was undoubtedly felt.
When asked if his side missed Tierney during the match, Bellerin told Sky Sports: “Yeah, I think so.
“We do miss every single player when they’re not on the pitch. We also have great players coming back and I think Ainsley [Maitland-Niles] did a great job filling in again. He’s such a versatile player
“But it’s true that Kieran [Tierney] was enjoying some very good form and we probably did miss him on the left side.
“But we have many talented players in many areas that can come in and we’re not a team that is boiled down to just one player. We need to find ways to be creative and break away from other teams, whenever they give us a challenge.”
Arsenal 0-0 Crystal Palace Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Kieran Tierney 
Héctor Bellerín 
Bukayo Saka 
Arsenal 
Tottenham 
Chelsea 
Man City 
Man Utd 
Celtic 
Liverpool 
