Arsenal and Scotland defender Kieran Tierney is pleased with the nation’s 1-0 win over Austria after a ‘tough task’ against Serie A striker Marko Arnautovic.
The powerful Bologna forward caused the Arsenal defender problems but Scotland held on for a priceless victory in Vienna. It moves head coach Steve Clarke’s side into second in World Cup 2022 qualification Group F ahead of a big match with Israel at a sold-out Hampden Park next month.
Arsenal defender Tierney shone for Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Tierney said: “It was a good result for us. I think we needed that for our confidence. We didn’t start the week well with the result [in Denmark], but we’ve only lost one game in this group and it was to the top seeds. It was big for us [Lyndon Dykes’ penalty], we needed to score.
“It gave us the confidence that we could go on and do – and get the clean sheet as well. I think it’s very important. It means second place is in our control now, it’s in our hands, and we need to go out and win games. It was tough because I had a lot to do with their striker.
“He’s (Arnautovic) big, he’s physical and it was a tough task for me, but I tried to stick to it and put him off. They put a lot of crosses in on me as well. I think I was the target for them to look for, but I just tried my best and did what I could.”