Mikel Arteta has revealed he has no idea when defender Kieran Tierney will return from injury.
Arteta was speaking to his club’s official website in the aftermath of his Arsenal side’s failure to break down Crystal Palace on Thursday night in their Premier League match, which ended 0-0. The result left Arsenal in 11th place after a recent pick-up in their form.
The Spanish manager said that his players had failed to be ruthless enough to conquer their opponents.
“We lacked some quality and end product in the final third to win the game. We took a point, another clean sheet which is really positive, but disappointing not to get the three points,” he said.
“We did have some difficulties in the game where we started to give some balls away without any pressure. I think the spirit and the attitude the team showed in tracking was back. I think the boys were terrific there but we lacked that freshness and that spark in the final third.”
The failure to score comes after Arsenal had fired blanks in normal time against Newcastle United in the FA Cup, before they ran out 2-0 winners following extra time.
“We will assess and review what we have done in the last two games that we have to do better,” Arteta continued.
“Defensively [against Crystal Palace], we were really solid and we are not giving things away easily. We're making it really hard for the opponent. In the final third, we've progressed a lot but there are things that we have to do better.”
Arteta then admitted he was not sure when defender Tierney would return to first team action, with the club not yet sure of the extent of his injury.
“I don't know [when he will return]. He is going to have an MRI scan and we'll see how he is,” Arteta said.
"He's a real threat and the way we are playing and the way we attack on that left-side, he's a really important player. We didn't have him, he's injured, and we have to find other solutions."