As the seasons change, so too do the dynamics of football teams and the destinies of their players. The recent months have cast a revealing light on the future of Kieran Tierney within Mikel Arteta’s plans at Arsenal for the ongoing season.
The 25-year-old Scottish international, who once occupied a prominent role at left-back for the Gunners, has seen his fortunes shift. The past season saw Tierney slip down the pecking order, with Oleksandr Zinchenko establishing himself as the primary choice in that position. Now, with Zinchenko temporarily absent, the spotlight has turned towards Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who have surprisingly been favored over Tierney, but Timber got injured with an ACL in his League debut, and Tomiyasu got sent off last weekend, but I thnk we all know that he will still be on the bench with Zinchenko occupying his role.
While Arteta has voiced his commitment to integrating Tierney into his future plans, actions on the pitch have, at times, contradicted these words. The new campaign has offered glimpses of Tierney’s sidelined status, despite his excellent performances in pre-season, raising questions about the alignment between Arteta’s statements and his tactical decisions.
Mikel Arteta on if Tierney is part of his plans: “He played the [Community Shield] final, no? A player that plays five days before in the final is part of the plans, for sure. I hope so [he is disappointed to be left out of league squad].” #afc pic.twitter.com/z2k9hK3VGi
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 17, 2023
Amidst these shifts, an intriguing possibility emerges on the horizon, one that could bring Tierney back to his roots. Celtic, his boyhood club, has surfaced as a contender for his signature before the transfer window draws to a close.
Rumours of a potential return have lingered throughout the summer, yet no concrete progress has materialized, although most bookies have Celtic as his most likely destination this summer if he leaves, so there must be some smoke in that fire somewhere. Brendan Rodgers, who once guided Tierney’s development in Glasgow, has refrained from extinguishing the flames of speculation, keeping the door slightly ajar.
Reflecting on his journey, Tierney’s transition from the Hoops to Arsenal in the summer of 2019 marked a significant chapter in his career. The £25 million move signaled his ambition to compete at the highest echelons of English football, making his presence known on the grand stage. However, he arrived with an injury, and his problems continued until last season, so he has mostly been overtaken by Arteta’s new purchasaes and his tactical changes.
Now his place as a starter has diminished maybe we could be presented with the prospect of a homecoming that could reunite him with familiar surroundings and a fanbase that still worships him. There have always been rumours of him missing his family and friends in Scotland while on the treatment table or struggling for his place at Arsenal.
As the transfer window’s minutes tick away, the script for Tierney’s future remains uncertain. While the allure of Celtic’s embrace beckons, the intricate dance of negotiations, desires, and managerial considerations continues.
The facts tell us that Arteta would prefer a direct cash sale, but there is no way his old club would pay Arsenal what they recieved, and with the income in Scottish football it is likely to rule out Celtic even matching the wages he gets at the Emirates, so the only hope for Kieran would be a loan with reduced wages
Whether the stars align to somehow overcome these obstacles so he could return home is debatable, as I am sure there are many Premier League sides that would be willing to take him and his undoubted skills into their teams, but perhaps Arsenal could show compassion and give him a year of regular football at Celtic to make him into a valuable asset which they could cash in on next summer?
Jack Anderson
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Arteta has absolutely ruined Tierney. He did great when he first went to Arsenal but then MA preferred Tavares, a guy with no long term future at the club over him. Fair enough, KT accepted it. Then he brought in Zinchenko, fair enough, two players for every position and Zin was the first choice. KT accepted it. Then when he was injured, MA shifted around other players who weren’t left backs to play there. KT accepted it all, but inevitably his confidence was knocked and he started doing less well in glimpses. Now his mind has totally gone and I don’t blame him. This was a boy wonder at Celtic and a great Arsenal player who the manager has totally undervalued and ultimately ruined.
You have summed it up very well Stephen.A sad state of affairs compounded by the dishonesty voiced by Arteta recently when he indicated that KT was still part of his plans.
I don’t think tierney’s been ruined – he still looks confident and up for it in games to me. I do agree he should have been called on more often last season, though. I don’t understand why zinchenko kept playing when he was badly off form – KT’s energy might have gotten a reaction from his teammates who appeared frozen at times.
I will say, though, KT has never proven himself the top/world class left back many seem to believe he has. He had poor games before arteta joined because he’s not perfect in 1v1s and wasn’t always positionally sound. He *might* have developed into that world class player by now were it not for injuries and being left out by arteta, but we can’t know that.
Personally, I wish him nothing but the best because his attitude truly *is* top class. I do hope he can still prove himself here, but if arteta really doesn’t fancy him in our system, I hope he soon gets a move to a club where he’s appreciated and can play regularly and fulfill his potential – whatever that potential actually is.
EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS ARSENAL HAVE TREATED HIM QUITE POORLY AND YET HE TAKES IT AND KEEPS QUIET REALLY HOPE THINGS WORK OUT FOR HIM GOING FORWARD HE IS A REALLY GOOD BOY AND A MODEL PROFESSIONAL
With injuries, I think we should keep him if we can. He’s a very good left back and I like him a lot
Letting him go will be another bad decision.
He launched our third kit just last week as well as our other kits few weeks earlier,played in the CS and mikel has come out to confirm he is part of his plans.can’t say for sure why he is not named in our matchday squads for our opening two games but i can say for sure with the three assurances i stated above that he is going nowhere and his time will surely come maybe CL and cup competitions.
Arteta’s faith in ‘sicknote’ Zinchenko is misplaced. He can’t defend and has poor positional sense and his attacking impact is overrated . Poor player & squad management with KT.
I don’t know why he hasn’t been the squad for our opening two games, but I think he should leave in order to play regular football. He is still young and too talented and at arsenal his chances will be very limited, so he needs to find a club where he can play regularly. I am even surprised he hasn’t forced his way out. Maybe arteta still assures him of playing time.
As much as I don’t want to support Arteta’s treatment of KT because I like the player, I need to cut Arteta some slacks.
Zichenko playing as full back is one of the reason we are back in champions league. I would rather as a coach pick Zichenko or JTimber over KT because of what they bring to the game than what KT bring. Foot ball isn’t about sentiments but results.
Most of Epl coaches are under immense pressure to perform because they have employers they report to. Fans see what players do on the pitch during matches but a coach watch out for pre game events in trainings.
I guess Arteta want to keep KT because of certain games where he could be needed. PepG did same with KWalker before KWalker was re introduced for regular games. Truth is is a coach can only selct 11 players even if he has 22 quality players.
KT situation is quite an unlocky one at the moment and same with other quality players.
How people defend Arteta is beyond me. KT is among the top 5 best LB’s in the league and yet can seem to get on the team sheet let alone start a game . Release the man if you don’t need him. Arteta once again being dishonest . Now if you sell Gabriel and rid yourself of Tierney, i wonder what our defense turns into ,
For those who called Pepe a flop should we say ESR and KT are flops as well .
Cedric , Holding, Elneny are still at Arsenal . Edu still yet to convince me and Arteta seems to complicate football .
According to YouTube channel, KT has joined Real Sociedad for a season long loan.