Kieran Tierney could never be accused of being seduced by the flash and the bling. The Scotland internationalist headed into Bramall Lane last weekend on Arsenal duty swinging a Tesco plastic carrier bag rather than the footballers’ Luis Vuitton favourite. If his performances post-lockdown for the North London side haven’t been enough to suggest the £25m Arsenal paid for him last August was money well spent, his humility and focus were seen as a telling endearment. Every little helps.

And it wasn’t just the modern social media pull where Tierney’s style found a few admirers. Former Arsenal manager George Graham who delivered two titles, two League Cups an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup in his nine-year spell at the club was among those who applauded the grounded nature of the fullback.

Indeed, such has been Graham’s impressions of Tierney that he fancies he would have been the type of player that would have wanted in his era at the English club.

“When I first went to Arsenal and I knew I had to rebuild the club, those [players like Tierney] were the kind of players I wanted to bring in,” said the 75-year-old, whose haul as Arsenal manager was two titles, two League Cups an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup in his nine-year spell.

“I brought in guys like Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon and Steve Bould. I had come into a club where there were good players but I wanted to really shake things up and having players who are hungry gives you that.

"I still think that they need at least another 3 or 4 players if they want to challenge and compete but you look at a player like Tierney who has so much potential and you get the feeling that he will give everything on the park.

“He has that will to win. You can’t coach that desire. It’s innate and he has it and for me as a fellow Scot, I am delighted.”

Tierney’s dislocation of his shoulder and subsequent surgery in December came on the back of a persistent pubic problem which had curtailed his final season at Celtic and curtailed the opening months of his time in London. It meant that he struggled for a consistent run in the team but post lockdown there has been an opportunity for Tierney to properly showcase the qualities which were the hallmark of his time with the Parkhead side.

A key performer as Arsenal have won their last three games and particularly impressive in the midweek 4-0 win over Norwich, Tierney has caught the eye with Graham enthused by the role he could play in Mikael Arteta’s rebuilding at Arsenal.

“Time was when every club in England had at least a few Scottish players in it,” said Graham. “Kieran looks like a throwback. You see him knocking about with the Tesco bag and you’re thinking that with all the money these guys are on now, he could definitely afford something a bit more glamorous.

“It made me smile. But, yeah, it definitely just shows that he has his feet firmly on the ground. And I think right now that is what Arsenal need. Players like that who are hungry and want to just focus on their football. Every team needs to have players like that.”

If the methods that Arteta will employ inside Arsenal’s modern and expansive training facility will be in sharp contrast to the old-school teachings of Graham, the same current that connects both is a drive for success.

“The league has changed so much since my time,” said Graham.  “It really is an outstanding league. I don’t have any doubt that it is one of the top leagues in the world and the standard is very, very high. It’s not enough to just have the appetite for it.  It will definitely serve Kieran well and it has definitely endeared him to the support but he has more to his game than just that too.  He really is an exciting talent and I am delighted to see a Scottish boy in the Arsenal team.

“I don’t know him well at all and I don’t have any dealings with him.

“I have never been one to hang around the club since I left because you always feel that you have to accept that you had your time and it’s passed to someone else, but I still love Arsenal.

“I still love watching games and watching how the team is playing and is set up. I just wouldn’t be one of these guys that hangs around the training ground or still kicking around the club.  But I always watch football. It is just in me. Hopefully I’ll be seeing a lot of Kieran in the next few months.”