It has been six years since Kieran Tierney left his boyhood club Celtic to try and make a name for himself in the Premier League.
Even though Celtic would have loved to have kept Tierney on board in 2019, at the end of the day, the £25 million put on the table from Arsenal was too much to turn down.
Since then, Celtic have continued to be dominant, including winning a fourth Premiership title in a row this season and their 55th overall.
As for Tierney, he certainly made himself known in Arsenal colours, including becoming a fan favourite, but he has had a mixed time of it over the years, including during recent times.
For nearly two years, the 27-year-old didn’t play under Mikel Arteta, including being out on loan at Spanish side Real Sociedad last season.
After suffering an injury at Euro 2024 in the summer, Tierney was back on the field in December and playing games again for Arsenal.
But not in the manner in which he would have liked, especially given that, since he has been away, that left-back spot at the Emirates Stadium has been taken over by a rising teenage star.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Gary Neville on Arsenal’s ‘massive problem’ at left-back as Kieran Tierney is set for Celtic return
It seems as though Arteta went down a different road with his left-back, including wanting them to play inverted, and that isn’t Tierney’s game.
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Either way, Gary Neville feels that the left-back spot has been a ‘massive problem’ for Arteta over the years, as he mentioned Tierney.
But now, Neville thinks things are changing because rising teenage star Myles Lewis-Skelly is making it his own, as he told Sky Sports.
“That has been a massive problem position for Arsenal,” said Neville about the London club’s left-back spot.
“Tierney, Zinchenko, and Kiwior has played there. Tomiyasu has played there. Timber has gone there.
“He (Lewis-Skelly) has gone in and made it look it is his. It’s like he has always been there. That’s the biggest compliment you can pay a player. That they slot in. Saka has done it for Arsenal in the last few years – it’s incredible what he is doing.”
What is Arsenal’s loss will be Celtic’s gain
Not many will argue that it was time for Tierney to move on, because he was just standing still and not progressing during an important period of his career.
This is Tierney at his peak, yet despite being fit and available since December, he has played just over 300 minutes in all competitions.
Games Minutes
19 384
It’s going to be interesting to see how Brendan Rodgers uses Tierney next season, especially given that Greg Taylor has been deployed in that role, and he is always coming into midfield – but is expected to leave this summer.
Will things change? The thought of Tierney and Daizen Maeda bombing down that left flank is mouthwatering.