Kieran Tierney has revealed he is unsure if he will remain in football once his playing days are over.
The left-back joined Arsenal from Celtic in 2019, with the Gunners paying around £25million for the defender. The 27-year-old quickly became a fan favourite and was a popular member of the squad, although he found himself out of the side in the 2022/23 season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
Now, six years after he joined the north Londoners, Tierney will leave in the summer when his contract expires at the end of June. A return to Celtic has been agreed, with chairman Peter Lawwell confirming the move in the club's interim report.
"During the January 2025 transfer window, we acquired the permanent registration of Jota and the temporary registration of Jeffrey Schlupp," Lawwell wrote. "In addition, we extended the contract of Kasper Schmeichel and entered into a pre-contract agreement that will see Kieran Tierney return to Celtic in July 2025. We disposed of the registrations of Kyogo Furuhashi, Alexandro Bernabei and placed Luis Palma, Odin Holm and Stephen Welsh on Loan."
Tierney, who has made 11 appearances for Arsenal this season, has been fit and available for the past handful of months, since returning from a hamstring injury which he sustained during Euro 2024. Now, as he looks forward to a return to Scotland, the Scotland international has opened up on what he wants to do when he hangs up his boots.
"No, nothing in particular yet," he told the official Arsenal website when asked if he had any plans. "But I have an aspiration to open a dog shelter one day. I’m an ambassador for the SSPCA (Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) so that’s the only thing that’s a goal of mine.
"But in terms of coaching, I haven’t done any badges yet, so it’s hard to say what I will do. I think I would have an interest in it though, and maybe in future when I’m not so focused on playing, I will have more of a plan for that."
Between now and the end of the season, Tierney will be hoping to help Arsenal win the Champions League and finish as high as possible in the Premier League. From the summer onwards, Scotland awaits and it's sure to be an emotional goodbye.
Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.