Kieran Tierney limped out of Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace on his return to the starting XI, but Mikel Arteta has allayed fears of another injury for the Scot.
The 27-year-old started the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace at the Emirates on what turned out to be a great night for the Gunners.
The Eagles went ahead very early through Jean-Philippe Mateta but a Gabriel Jesus hat-trick saw Arsenal win the match 3-2 and book their spot in Thursday’s semi-final draw, despite a late goal from Eddie Nketiah for Palace.
Tierney manage 69 minutes of the game before worryingly going down before being replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
However, when asked about a possible injury situation in a post-match press conference, Arteta said: ‘No, just cramp.’
The Scotland international impressed on his return to the starting XI, especially in going forward and almost playing as a left-winger at times.
‘It’s just playing each player in their strengths,’ said Arteta of the Scot’s performance. ‘That’s something that we have to continue to learn because players give you a lot of information. They tell you, not so much with their words, but with a lot of information where they feel more comfortable.
‘Certainly there is a much better fit for him.’
The former Celtic full-back appeared to be on the scrapheap as an Arsenal player, having spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad, but he has returned to the fold.
On the victory, Arteta said: ‘Really happy. We’re in the semi-final. The game started in a way we didn’t want with a very simple goal and then the team had to react in a great way.
‘(They) showed a lot of character and so much desire to turn things around. Even in the first half (when) we lacked some threat, we created two or three big chances and didn’t score. With a few adjustments in the second half we got a grip of the game again and we looked threaten.’
The hat-trick for Jesus came as his first goals since a win over Preston in the same competition in October and Arteta hopes that he will now be a potent weapon in the coming months.
‘Yeah, he brings something,’ the manager said of the Brazilian. ‘He has a quality, a way of creating and innovating situations that is quite unique. So Gabi at that level is a big asset for us.’
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