Kieran Tierney was completely omitted from Arsenal’s squad for the match against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Gunners will face the Bundesliga champions in their penultimate pre-season match at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
2
However, Tierney’s name was not included in Arsenal’s squad list for the friendly.
The Scottish international and big fan favourite was out of the question for the duel due to the thigh injury he sustained at the 2024 European Championship.
However, players are not usually completely removed from the program’s rosters in the event of an injury.
The Gunners fans also quickly noticed his oversight.
“The same thing happened with [Nicolas] Pepe last season if I remember correctly,” said one, referring to former Arsenal player Pepe who moved to Trabzonspor.
A second said: “Kieran Tierney is not even in the matchday programme. He will 100 per cent go.”
The 27-year-old defender has long been linked with a summer transfer after spending last season on loan at Spanish club Real Sociedad.
In an interview with The Pitch Prospect in April, Tierney admitted he was unsure what the future held for him in north London.
He also explained that the loan move last season was the right move for both himself and the club as he looked to get back to form after falling down the pecking order.
The left-back lost his place to Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 2022/23 season.
2
And now he also has to fight for a place in the starting eleven with new signings Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior.
Tierney has been at Arsenal since his £25 million move from Celtic in 2019 and has made 124 appearances.
During this time he won the FA Cup and two Community Shields.