Kieran Tierney sent frantic Arsenal SOS as 'angry' Arteta to abandon his hardline principle before Celtic homecoming

The Scotland international has struggled to get any minutes on the pitch after agreeing a pre-contract deal with his former side

Concerned Arsenal fans are demanding Kieran Tierney is given a second chance at the club by Mikel Arteta before his return to Celtic.

It comes after the Gunners boss unleashed on his players in the wake of their dismal defeat to West Ham which gifted Liverpool a massive advantage in the Premier League title race. Arne Slot's men have drawn two of their last three games - but Arsenal failed to take advantage as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Graham Potter's men. It leaves Liverpool with an eight-point lead at the summit before facing Manchester City on Sunday.

Left-back Riccardo Calafiori was heavily criticised for his performance having failed to keep tabs on Aaron Wan-Bissaka throughout the Emirates showdown before being replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly who saw red in the second half. That has sparked calls from the Arsenal support to bring Celtic-bound Tierney back into the picture.

So far this season, the Scotland international has managed just one start across his six appearances for the club - making a one-minute cameo off the bench against Leicester City earlier this month in his only run-out since agreeing a move to the Hoops in the summer. The 26-year-old again sat on the bench during the defeat to the Hammers - and Arteta made it clear before a deal was agreed with the Premiership leaders. Speaking last month about Tierney, he said: "I wouldn’t play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed to us."

However, the boss could be forced to ditch his hardline stance amid the fallout from West Ham display. One fan posted to X calling for changes: "Calafiori shouldn't be starting again after that. Why are we not playing Tierney?"

Another added: "Calafiori had the best season of his career at CB and Arteta plays him left back where he’s struggling. Get Tierney in there next week." One punter rounded off: "That's a wake up call for Arteta. Get Tierney in there until he leaves."

After the shock defeat, Arteta let rip on his players stating: "Very disappointed, obviously very angry as well. I never felt that we were at the standards or the levels we needed to have more threat and then don’t allow them to run.

"We lost a lot of balls and we allowed West Ham to run into very dangerous positions. I hope we are very (angry) because we didn’t hit the levels today and I’m very much responsible, and I am very angry."

Pressed on injuries being a factor in the result, he snapped back: "I refuse that completely because I am talking about the standards of the players and the team that we played today, me included 100%, were nowhere near the levels that we have to hit to have the opportunity to win a Premier League game. We were very consistent, yes, but football is about what you do today and today, it was nowhere near."