Tony Adams concerned Arsenal will ‘confuse’ Kieran Tierney with Mikel Arteta’s tactical switches

Along with Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac, Tierney has been one of the players most frequently switched positions in the team by his manager

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Arsenal have a top prospect to work with down the left in Kieran Tierney, says former captain Tony Adams, but Mikel Arteta’s constant tactical switches could leave the defence in disarray longer term.

The Gunners boss has habitually switched between a 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3 as he looks to find the winning formula as he rebuilds the under-performing north London side.

Results have again been mixed this season so far, with inconsistency rife throughout the squad - though Tierney has largely impressed, whether at full-back or as a third central defender.

For Adams, though, that lack of continuity could impact on the Scot’s capacity to reach his best possible level, with the retired defender saying that developing full-backs into well-rounded players has long been a problem for the Gunners.

"It was such a poor performance coming off of the Manchester United game and I think Arteta was trying to be too clever,’ Adams said on The Football Show.

"He’s gone back into the three, offloaded three with [Hector] Bellerin popping in to make the four into midfield and Tierney for me is in that too narrow position, he’s a left-back for me.

“Every full-back who has come to the club in the last five years, maybe more, has never been taught how to play full-back. They’ve become kind of wingers, they bomb on and it leaves the central defenders isolated. Hector needs support, he needs to be worked with. I’ve not seen a full-back improve when they join Arsenal at the start, we’ve got Gael Clichy, Kieran Gibbs, endless [examples].”

For Tierney, playing left-back on a more regular basis would get the best out of his game and allow relationships to be built with the rest of the defence, says Adams, a keen admirer of the former Celtic player.

"I think Tierney has got it all, he’s got a fantastic attitude. He’s someone you can really work with but to play him left-side centre-half, and then sometimes playing him left-back, the kid’s going to get confused.

“You’ve got to put him in at left-back and work with him. I think he can be a real talent when he bombs down that left.”