Burnley skipper Ben Mee says James Tarkowski’s attitude towards fending off transfer speculation is a credit to the defender. In the final few days of the transfer window there was talk of the England defender being a target for Leicester who sold Harry Maguire to Manchester United.
However, Tarkowski remains at Turf Moor and was in the side for the 3-0 victory at home to Southampton last weekend, while Mee says his attitude throughout the few days was exemplary. He said: “You never know what can happen. Obviously there was a lot of talk around Tarky. I’ve said to him, ‘I’m glad you’ve stayed.’ He focused really well and he showed that on Saturday.
“He had the attitude of what will be, will be. He never once stepped out of line. You see other players at other clubs, you hear about something and they can go a bit off the rails. He’s stuck to it and trained really well and stuck with the group. He’s fully focused on playing for us.”
Mee and Tarkowski have formed a strong partnership at the heart of the Clarets’ defence, coming together as the first choice pairing following Michael Keane’s departure to Everton two years ago. Having had a difficult season last year, with the Europa League involvement possibly having an affect, the Clarets got off to the perfect start with victory over the Saints last weekend but Mee is keeping his feet on the ground.
“It’s only one game in but we’re determined to show everyone what we can do and how much we do deserve to be in this league,” he added. “We want to better last year, obviously, and be more consistent in our season. If we have the same sort of year as we did the back end of last season, we’ll have a good season.”
Burnley are 9.50 to win at the Emirates with the Gunners 1.33 and the draw 5.25. Arsenal are at 2.05 to finish in the top four of the league while Manchester United are 1.95.
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