Kieran Tierney makes prediction on Arsenal future and admits Mikel Arteta was right to loan him out

Kieran Tierney has admitted his Arsenal career is likely to be over and said he is expected to leave this summer.

The left-back arrived in north London from Celtic in the summer of 2019 and made 124 appearances for the club over four seasons at the Emirates Stadium.

Tierney is preparing to hit the road again this summer.

But since then, Mikel Arteta has rebuilt the Gunners’ squad while Tierney has fallen out of favor with the Premier League title contenders.

After struggling with persistent injuries, Arsenal signed Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City in 2022, with Tierney playing second fiddle at left-back for most of that season.

Last summer it was decided to loan the 26-year-old to Spanish club Real Sociedad for a season – a move that was made more difficult by a thigh injury.

Although Tierney has made 22 appearances for the club, the Scotland international admits it could be a big summer for him as he talks about leaving north London for good.

When asked about a possible return to Arsenal, Tierney told The Athletic: “There’s every chance.”

“Now look at the squad strength at this position. They have.” [Oleksandr] Zinchenko, [Jurrien] Wood, [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 being silly, I know there’s a good chance I’ll leave.”

“But in football you never know. In the rare case you will receive it [William] Saliba, where he returned after a few good seasons [out on loan] But you don’t see that too often with someone who played for four years, then left and then came back to play.

Tierney fell out of favor under Mikel Arteta, which led to him being sent out on loan.

“Stranger things have happened. I could go back and there’s a place for me. So I’m prepared for both.”

Tierney spoke about his downfall when Arteta signed Zinchenko, saying: “There is no hard feelings or resentment from me.

“It never happened in a personal way. It was tactical. He thought it was best to get Arsenal results – and if you look at it that way, he was 100 percent right.

“Last year they were close to winning the league and this year I think they will.”

“The Arsenal fans are great. Whenever I post or Sociedad posts, fans still say, “We wish you were here.”

“It makes me happy because they could easily forget me because I’m no longer there.”