Scotland boss Steve Clarke has a nice selection headache as Arsenal and Liverpool left-backs Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson are both selected for international duty.
The Arsenal full-back has missed the international scene for over a year with injury. It’s allowed Scots captain and Reds hero Robertson to cement the left-back position, but now he has serious competition.
With both players arguably Scotland’s best two footballers at present, Clarke has to find a way to shoehorn the two of them into the starting XI. It would appear he is ready to look for the solution.
Clarke’s never had the problem of fitting them both in – but former Scots boss Gordan Strachan has. The current Tartan Army manager says it’s great to have Tierney back as he hopes to call upon both the Arsenal and Liverpool defender’s versatility.
“They’ve played together before,” he explained during his press conference. “Gordon Strachan used Kieran as a right-back which was one way to fit them in. Kieran can play left centre-back, he can play left of a back three or pushed on as a wing-back.
“He played all those positions for Arsenal towards the end of last season and did very, very well. I think he made a few people in England sit up and take notice of his talent but I don’t think that would be a big surprise to anybody who watched Kieran develop over the years. He’s in a good place and it’ll be good to have him in the squad.”
Scotland will face Israel next month on September 4 before a trip to the Czech Republic on September 7, both of which UEFA Nations League matches. It’ll be interesting to see what Clarke opts for.