Arsenal's limp draw against Palace proved how vital defender Tierney has become

Arsenal's concerning lack of ability to create chances reared its ugly head once again in their goalless home stalemate against Crystal Palace on Thursday.

But this time, the majority of the post-match reaction did not revert back to Mikel Arteta's controversial decision to omit playmaker Mesut Ozil from his Premier League and Europa League squads in October, as it did during the Gunners' similar struggles at the end of the previous calendar year.

Instead, the focus shifted to the alarming difference left-back Kieran Tierney makes in terms of helping the Gunners become a threatening attacking force as opposed to the toothless side that struggled to break down Roy Hodgson's resilient men at the Emirates Stadium.

The Scotland international was left out as a precaution due to muscle tightness, and his absence was felt to considerable effect as the Gunners looked incapable of getting in behind Palace to try and make it five wins on the bounce and continue their bid of returning to the top half of the table.

Speaking after the game, Arteta and Hector Bellerin admitted that their side had indeed missed the marauding runs of the Scotland international.

The Arsenal boss said: 'I don't know [when Tierney will be back]. He is going to have an MRI scan and we'll see how he is.

'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.'

Meanwhile, Arsenal right-back Bellerin - whose recently-released nine-part documentary series charting his rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury showed how the Spaniard helped the Scot settle in north London - said when asked whether Arsenal missed Tierney: 'Yeah, I think so. I think we miss every single player when they're not on the pitch.

'But it's true that Kieran was also enjoying very good form and we did miss that probably on the left side but we have very talented players in many areas that can come.

'We're not a team where it's all down to one player, we need to find ways to be creative and ways to break down other teams, whatever challenge they give us. We need to keep improving on that.

'We also have great players coming back and I think Ainsley [Maitland-Niles] did a great job again filling in, such a versatile player.'

Maitland-Niles has become even more of a utility option under Arteta and this time replaced Tierney in the starting XI.

But the England international was sloppy in possession and did not produce the kind of vicious delivery into the box with his weaker foot that Tierney conjured up so frequently in the Gunners' recent upturn to form.

The numbers from Thursday night - and since Boxing Day for that matter - certainly support that assessment too.

No Arsenal player had more shots than central defender Rob Holding - who had two attempts at goal - against Crystal Palace, and no Gunners star created more chances than the English centre-back, who created two opportunities.

The statistic brought back the very recent memories of a stunted Gunners forward line featuring the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and Nicolas Pepe failing to function on a consistent basis this season, with all bar the French forward yet to find any form.

Tierney meanwhile has arguably been the most in-form player over the last month and statistics provided by Opta show just how critical he has been in turning the Gunners into an efficient attacking machine.

No Arsenal player has created more chances in the Premier League this season than the 21 created by the 23-year-old Scot, with Bukayo Saka the next on the list with 18.

The north London outfit have scored just 20 top-flight goals this campaign, with only six of their rivals having scored fewer, and Tierney will be among those most frustrated with the return having registered just one assist from the opportunities he has created.

Yet only Bellerin, attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe and Willian - who registered two of his three assists at Fulham on the opening weekend of the season - have recorded more assists than the left-back.

And while that figure highlights part of the reason behind why the Gunners have been so feeble for the majority of the current top-flight campaign, Tierney's figures in his most recent four games demonstrate why Arteta's men were able to put a winning run together.

The Scot featured in the top three for chances created in the home win against Chelsea, the away victories at Brighton and West Brom and the success against Newcastle in the FA Cup third round last weekend.

Only one chance came from his boot against Frank Lampard's men, putting him joint-third with Joe Willock on Boxing Day, but he did win the penalty from Reece James that Lacazette dispatched for the opener, before a tight affair at the Amex saw him churn out just two scoring opportunities.

But as the Gunners' confidence grew so did Tierney's and he created no fewer than 10 chances in the thrashing of West Brom and defeat of Newcastle.

Tierney was exceptional at the Hawthorns, cutting inside to fire home a delicious effort with his right-foot to give his side the lead and creating countless problems for Sam Allardyce with his marauding runs down the left-hand side.

The four chances he created brought about his one and only Premier League assist so far this term, with Lacazette kneeing the ball into the roof of the net from his driven ball for his second and Arsenal's fourth of the evening.

The Gunners may have needed an extra half an hour to overcome Steve Bruce's men and reach the FA Cup fourth round a week later, but left-back Tierney laid on six chances for his team-mates and was finally rewarded when Aubameyang tapped home a low cross for their second with three minutes of extra time remaining.

The Gabon striker was next on the list behind Tierney for chances created against the Magpies, but it was a sudden drop compared to the former Celtic man with the Gabon forward managing to fathom just two chances for his side.

Fans have recently called for Tierney to replace Aubameyang as Arsenal captain in the not too distant feature, and few are finding it hard to disagree that the Scot does not lead by example on the field given his recent performances.

Adrian Durham - as has been customary over the years - went against the grain and this week argued Tierney is not what he is made out to be by Arsenal fans.

'All the Arsenal fans think Kieran Tierney is a future captain and that he's brilliant. But he's on a level with a [Patrick] Van Aanholt or a Luke Shaw.

'He's behind an Aaron Cresswell or an Enda Stevens, or a [Timothy] Castagne or a Matt Targett… he's way behind [Sergio] Reguilon and [Lucas] Digne!

'And he's miles behind, a million miles behind [Ben] Chilwell and [Andy] Robertson.

'Tierney's alright, he's okay, but he's not going to be the answer to all of Arsenal's problems. And yet, all the fans think he is!'

Yet amid Arteta and Bellerin's cry to find other creative outlets in Tierney's absence, the evidence against Crystal Palace suggests the Scot can solve this particular issue in the short-term at least.

Technical director Edu and manager Arteta are on the lookout for a creative midfielder to add to the squad this month, and their determination would only have been strengthened after seeing the struggles against Palace.

Smith Rowe is already being heavily relied on to be the creative spark, yet the 20-year-old's injury record and inexperience mean it is doubtful he will last the course of the season performing at his best level.

But while the focus will always return to adding a player in that position to the squad, the lack of adequate cover for Tierney at left-back - particularly with Sead Kolasinac now on loan at Schalke - is of almost equal concern.

Saka operated there last season but he has been such a revelation on the wings that Arteta was reluctant to move the England international back in spite of Maitland-Niles' insipid performance, while Cedric has not fully convinced since he joined the club.

Very few full-backs in the league can offer what Tierney does, and therefore setting the Gunners the challenge of finding a player with the same skillset who is willing to be Tierney's understudy is one that they will ultimately fall short on.

However, his speedy return appears just as critical as finding another creative force, because without either Arteta could be staring down the barrel of Arsenal's worst ever finish for a Premier League season since its inception nearly thirty years ago.