On Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League in 2017, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Celtic FC at the Parc des Princes and completely dominated the Scottish club to the tune of 7-1. Five different players scored for PSG during that match but there was one who stood out to a young Kieran Tierney who played for Celtic at the time.
On Arsenal FC’s YouTube channel, in a series called “The Chat,” Tierney and teammate Hector Bellerin answer questions ranging from their most prized jersey at home to whether they would rather score a game-winning goal or make a game-winning tackle. The left-back’s answer to one question [5:42], in particular, should be of interest to PSG supporters.
The question, read by Bellerin, asks “what opposition player has caused you the most problems?”
“In games, it was [Kylian] Mbappé,” said Tierney. “He was so quick and that PSG team as a whole. It was actually the manager here [Unai Emery] who was the manager at the time. It was the toughest game I’ve ever played in my career, against Mbappé and Dani Alves down the side.”
Bellerin responded by saying that “you learn a lot in those games, though,” and Tierney jokingly responded with, “getting beat 7-1, yeah!”
Tierney goes on to look at the lopsided loss against PSG as a learning lesson. “When you test yourself against the best in the world, you’re going to learn from it no matter the result,” said Tierney. “But yeah, it was tough. The toughest night.”
Arsenal currently sits in fourth place in the Premier League, nine points behind league-leaders Liverpool FC, while Kylian Mbappé is currently working his way back from a hamstring injury. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal can qualify for next season’s Champions League. A potential matchup between Arsenal and PSG would be entertaining for any number of reasons. Tierney vs. Mbappé 2.0, Emery vs. his old team (if he isn’t sacked this season), and the return of several former Ligue 1 players who will be familiar with PSG (Nicolas Pépé, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Alexandre Lacazette).
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