The Scotland international returned to Celtic this summer after the end of his Arsenal contract, having fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium and being allowed to run down his deal
Kieran Tierney in action for Celtic against Sporting Lisbon this week
Kieran Tierney in action for Celtic against Sporting Lisbon this week
(Image: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Kieran Tierney insists returning to Celtic was the "easiest decision I've had to make" as he prepares for his Parkhead return. The Scotland defender will run out on the Celtic Park pitch for the first time since leaving for Arsenal six years ago, when the Hoops host Newcastle in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
The 28-year-old took advantage of freedom of contract to agree a return to his boyhood club in January and is delighted to be back.
“It’s probably the easiest signing Celtic’s had to make and easiest decision I’ve had to make as well,” he said. “When I knew I was going to be a free agent in the summer, things can happen in January so the talks obviously started then. And once we found out it wouldn’t happen in January, it would be the summer, first thing in the summer.”
Looking ahead to Saturday, he said: “It’ll be amazing, it’ll be a special day. Probably a little bit of nerves as well because it’s the first time I’ve done it in so long. But I’ve spent a huge chunk of my life here, a big part of my career and still lots to go, so I’ll be absolutely buzzing for it.
“You always miss it, you do miss it. It’s a club that I think, I won’t be the only one who says it, when you’re away from it, you do miss it, you miss the people in the club, the fans, the atmosphere and just everything about the club.
“You do miss it, but now I’m back here and I want to enjoy every single moment again and make the most of it.
“Even when I left, I remember my first interview at Arsenal. One of the media guys asked me: ‘Do you think you’ll go back to Celtic?’
“So it’s something that’s always been spoken about with me, when will it happen, when will it happen? You never know for sure but when the opportunity came then it was a no-brainer.”
Tierney won eight major trophies before heading to Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup winners’ medal, and he plans to pick up where he left off. When asked about his targets, he said: “Personal and the collective one for me is just the same: it’s just to keep Celtic as successful as possible, maintain our place at the top.”
Kieran Tierney left Arsenal on a free transfer this summer
Kieran Tierney left Arsenal on a free transfer this summer
Tierney is set for a hero’s welcome after his pre-contract agreement was celebrated among supporters in January.
“They’ve been brilliant,” he said. “Just leaving the training ground earlier, there were lots of people there asking for autographs and pictures and welcoming me back.
“It just makes you feel at home already. Although you’ve not played back at Celtic Park or the league’s not started, you still feel at home already.
“There’s some stuff that’s the exact same, it feels like you’ve never been away. But even when you go up to Lennoxtown, the training ground’s come on massively. It’s a great place to be but it’s still a lot of the same people.
“A lot of new players for me to get used to as well but it’s been great.”
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