Kieran Tierney Backs Arsenal Manager Unai Emery, Says Players Must Improve Form

Kieran Tierney has thrown his support behind under-fire Arsenal manager Unai Emery and said it's the responsibility of the players to improve their recent poor form.

The Gunners' winless streak extended to four matches on Wednesday following a 1-1 draw away to Vitoria Guimaraes in the UEFA Europa League. Tierney, 22, was asked whether he thought Emery—the manager who signed him from Celtic this past summer—was the right man to lead Arsenal out of their mire, per FourFourTwo:

"Yes, of course.

"It is up to us as players to correct it on the pitch. For me, [Emery] has been brilliant since I’ve come in.

"I have learned a lot. I am learning a lot every day, playing with great players. Everybody in the changing room has got belief in each other and the manager."

Shkodran Mustafi scored from a Nicolas Pepe free-kick to give Arsenal the lead in Portugal after 80 minutes. However, Bruno Duarte hit back for the hosts in injury time as Emery's side dropped points for the first time in Group F, as BT Sport shared (UK viewers only):

Arsenal still boast a four-point advantage over Eintracht Frankfurt—who have a game in hand—but have won just once in their past six games in all competitions (a 3-2 win over Vitoria at home).

Goal's Charles Watts highlighted the lack of incision from Arsenal in the final third against Vitoria, which may be a concern considering Emery's team is supposed to be geared for attack:

Tierney was sidelined because of a hip injury at the start of this season and only made his Arsenal debut in October, but the £25 million signing has already made an impression at left-back. He and right-back Hector Bellerin recently returned from injuries to offer a welcome boost in defence, the area of main concern for Arsenal fans this term.

At least that's been the perception for much of the campaign—Simon Collings of the Evening Standard recently suggested the midfield may be hampering Arsenal:

Emery recently spoke at a press conference and confirmed that Granit Xhaka had been stripped of the club's captaincy and replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, another recent distraction that may have affected form.

The Spaniard is in his second season at the Emirates Stadium and oversaw an eight-match unbeaten streak not too long ago, and Tierney insists it's on the players' shoulders to get back to winning ways.