Arsenal are set for a massive summer, with some big names linked with exits
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney admits that he may not play for the Gunners again as his loan spell at Real Sociedad comes to an end.
The Scotland international joined the La Liga side on a season-long loan last summer after falling behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal pecking order, but injuries have meant he has only started 14 games in Spain.
Tierney signed for Arsenal from Celtic in the summer of 2019 and would go on to make 124 appearances before his temporary move away last summer.
Kieran Tierney (Image credit: PA Images)
“There is every chance,” he told The Athletic when asked if could be moving on this summer. “Look at the squad depth in that position now.
“They have (Oleksandr) Zinchenko, (Jurrien) Timber, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu, (Jakub) Kiwior. Four players can play there. So if I go back and it’s the same as before then I’m not silly, I know the chances are I’ll be leaving.
“But you never know in football. You get the rare case with (William) Saliba, where he came back after a couple of good seasons (out on loan) but you don’t see it too often with someone who has played for four years, left, and then come back to play again.
“Stranger things have happened. I could go back and there is a place for me. So I’m prepared for both.”
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The 26-year-old’s next priority is to play for Scotland at the European Championship, with the Tartan Army taking on host Germany in the tournament opener on June 14, before he addresses his future.
“You get one career and you don’t know how short or long it is going to be, so you have to try everything and make the most of it,” he added..
“I could see myself playing in Spain or Italy. I love La Liga. It’s a great league and I’ve enjoyed this season a lot.
“I don’t want to be jumping about to loads of different places, though. I want to get used to it and adapt to it so I can kick on.”
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include tomes on Leeds United and the England national team.
