Many would believe Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the fastest player at Arsenal but Jack Wilshere has revealed the Gunners boast an even quicker player in their ranks
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Jack Wilshere has admitted to being “surprised” by Arsenal ‘s fastest player in sprint training.
The 29-year-old is currently working with the Gunners’ squad in a bid to regain fitness in his search for first-team football elsewhere.
He has since given insight into a number of aspects of Mikel Arteta ‘s regime, including being able to find out who the team’s quickest player is.
And, to his shock, it was not striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, know for his electric speed in the forward line.
“We were doing a sprint test today,” Wilshere explained, in quotes reported by Football London .
“I asked the fitness guy ‘who is the fastest player, is it Aubameyang’ and he said ‘no it’s Kieran Tierney ’ – it surprised me.”
Sports analysts STAT Sports confirmed on Twitter that Tierney’s maximum speed is currently 37.51 kilometres per-hour.
The Scot is renowned for his tenacious approach, helping his national team to a pair of wins over the international break.
Tierney has also played every minute of Arsenal’s last four Premier League games as he embarks on his third season at the Emirates.
The ex-Celtic left-back helped Arteta and co to three clean sheets during that run, with only North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur breaking the Gunners’ back line since Manchester City did five times in late August.
Tierney is considered the future of Arsenal’s defence, much like Wilshere in the midfield at the Emirates a decade ago.
But injuries plagued the former starlet’s career, resulting in him being released by Bournemouth this summer.
Arteta recently welcomed the academy graduate back, with Wilshere exclusively telling Mirror Football how the Spaniard is around the club’s London Colney training ground.
“He makes it clear to the players what he wants from them and I think as well you’re starting to see that on the pitch,” the current free agent revealed.
“They have a clear philosophy and a way they want to play and I think that is credit to the manager.”
“He’s a very hands-on coach, he’s on the pitch, talking to people and shouting, pulling people where he wants them and making it clear to them really,” Wilshere continued.
“You can see a clear philosophy that they want to play out from the back and play the right way and I think they’re getting better at that.
“They’ve got a young team there that are getting better at doing that and they will continue to get better over time.”
He added: “I think there is a lot more to come from them but they’re heading in the right direction.”