Kieran Tierney is preparing for one of the biggest games of Scotland’s World Cup campaign, but first he has received some warm words from an old friend.
Scotland face Brazil in Miami on Wednesday night knowing that a positive result would be enough to secure a place in the knockout stages.
Standing on the opposite side will be one of Tierney’s closest friends in football, Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli.
The pair arrived at Arsenal during the same summer in 2019 and formed a strong bond during their time together in North London.
Despite now playing their football in different countries, they have remained close.
Martinelli has now opened up on that friendship and paid tribute to the Celtic defender ahead of their World Cup reunion.
Speaking about Tierney, the Brazilian said:
“Yeah, he’s my guy. When I got to Arsenal, he came the same year. He’s one of the best guys I’ve met in football.
“He’s so kind and so humble as well. So rapid as well! We used to joke who was the quickest in the sessions, in my opinion, it was him.”
It’s high praise from one of the Premier League’s quickest attackers.
The Celtic defender returned to Glasgow last summer and quickly reminded supporters of his quality.
Another league title followed, maintaining a remarkable statistic.
Tierney has never completed a season with Celtic without winning the league.
Martinelli has certainly been keeping an eye on events north of the border.
He added:
“He’s a great player, he’s doing well in Scotland now. They (Celtic) just won the league so happy for him.” [Glasgow Times]
While friendship will be put to one side for 90 minutes on Wednesday, it is a nice reminder of the respect Tierney commands among former teammates.
The Scotland defender remained on the bench during the victory over Haiti and started against Morocco. He will hope to play a bigger role against Brazil as Steve Clarke’s side look to take another step towards qualification.
And if he does come up directly against Martinelli in Miami, there will be no shortage of mutual respect.
Just don’t expect either player to be giving an inch once the whistle blows.
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