Kieran Tierney has previously asked to leave Arsenal, according to Mikel Arteta, but he hasn’t yet made the same request ahead of the January transfer window.
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 11: Kieran Tierney of Arsenal looks on as he sits on the substitutes bench prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Arsenal FC and AS Monaco at Emirates Stadium on December 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Kieran Tierney made his return to the Arsenal starting lineup on Wednesday, playing 69 minutes of the team’s 3-2 League Cup win over Crystal Palace.
It was Tierney’s first game in six months, though the majority of that absence was due to injury. The left-back did return to the squad six games earlier though, and perhaps if he had a bigger role in the team he would have been involved sooner.
Tierney’s status as a fringe player was underlined after the game, as news broke that Arsenal had opted not to trigger the one-year extension in his contract. As it stands, he’ll become a free agent in June 2025.
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 18: Kieran Tierney of Arsenal during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on December 18, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
There’s even talk that the two parties might part ways sooner than that, with those reports suggesting Arsenal would consider a January sale.
Mikel Arteta insisted on Friday that Tierney hasn’t asked to leave in January, but suggested the defender had asked for a move in the past.
“He hasn’t come to me and said ‘I want to move’,” Arteta began. “In the past, if we have any doubts he came to me and said ‘I think it’s my time to move’, and this hasn’t been the case yet.
“At the moment he’s here with us. I wouldn’t play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed to us, so he’s fully committed.”
LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND: Kieran Tierney of Arsenal controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on December 10, 2024. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
Reports suggest Tierney’s former club Celtic are ready to compete with Premier League sides for the player’s signature in 2025.
Non-English clubs can agree a pre-contract agreement jn January for a free transfer in the summer, but the Premier League sides have to wait until May to do the same.
With Tierney now back fit, a January move can’t be ruled out. It’s presumably what both Tierney and Arsenal would prefer, allowing him to play, getting the Gunners a fee, and saving them some money in wages.
Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko are both returning to fitness, and Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jurrien Timber are also available as left-back options. So if a bid comes in, you’d think it would be one Arsenal will consider.
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