Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney says it is hard to look past his former Celtic boss Ronny Deila as the favourite manager he has worked with in his career.

The Norwegian handed the fullback his senior debut all the way back in 2015 and he said that, while it is difficult to rank the coaches he has played under, Deila needs a special mention as he gave him his start in professional football:

“I don’t think I have got an order of who has been best for me or who has been my favourite. Every manager who I have played for, I am so grateful.”

“You look at the start, it would be Ronny Deila. He gave me my debut, so how can you look past that? Every one of the managers who I have played for, they are special for different reasons.”

Tierney’s injury problems continue

The defender is currently out on loan at Real Sociedad and he had started his spell in Spain promisingly enough, getting his first assist in a 1-0 win over Valencia last month.

However, Tierney, who has had problems staying fit over the years, is on the sidelines once again. He had to be substituted after picking up a hamstring injury against Athletic Bilbao a couple of weeks ago, and he won’t be playing for Scotland during the international break.

Is a return to Celtic possible?

The fact that Tierney left on loan at the start of the season suggests that he doesn’t have much of a future at his parent club Arsenal.

However, finances would make a permanent switch back to Celtic Park difficult. While you would hope that some sort of arrangement could be found on wages, the defender still has just under 3 years left on his contract so the Gunners would want a sizeable fee for his services.

Watch Kenny Dalglish and Alex McLeish preview Spain v Scotland on Shots! TV