Why I can't forget Hector Bellerin in my career - Tierney

Kieran Tierney on the influence of Hector Bellerin and how a changing room chat with his team-mate changed everything 👇

"The way I got so close to Hector was on my first day, he came up and introduced himself,” recalled Tierney. “He said he would be spending a lot of time with me because he was injured and I was injured.

“So straight away I felt a good connection and I knew how big a name he was as well, so coming into a changing room with big names, for him to do that was so nice and it helped me settle in straight away.

“I used to say to my family, 'Hector’s helping me, Hector’s taking me out today, Hector’s doing this'. I think they even appreciate how much he helped me.

“The biggest influence in the team for me would be him. He helped me the most.

“I wouldn’t have been as comfortable at Arsenal or in London without him. He helped me from day one. I can’t thank him enough for that.”

“I think he could see when I came that I was pretty nervous,” said the Scotland international. “I had the young boy look about me.

“You don’t have much time to settle in [at Arsenal]. You are playing with big players and big names, so you have to hit the ground running.

“I remember that I probably overthought every mistake I made. I went home and was like, 'I could have done better, I could have done this'. Whereas I wish I had just relaxed a little bit more and enjoyed it.

“And that was the time Hector said to me, 'you’re good enough to play here, just believe in yourself'.”

Tierney added: “That helped me so much. Just that little talk. It was after training in the changing room. Me and him had just done a gym session and after it we sat down for an hour and spoke. I think that changed everything.

“I went home that night feeling much better about myself. I remember texting him saying thanks so much for that chat, it helped me so much.

“I went in the next day with a different mindset, a different confidence and it was a big part to do with Hector.”