Senior Sports Journalist
Kieran Tierney is out of contract at Arsenal this summer.Kieran Tierney is out of contract at Arsenal this summer.
Kieran Tierney is out of contract at Arsenal this summer. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Kieran Tierney has opened up about his long term goals for when he hangs up his football boots.
Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney has opened up on his longer term life plans in an interview with the club this week, looking at where his interests off the football pitch may take him.
The Scotland international is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium this summer and will leave the club after six years. Tierney has already singed a pre-contract agreement with his former side Celtic to complete a move at the end of the season.
Tierney didn’t go into detail on his imminent return to Glasgow but was asked what might come for him after retirement, albeit the full-back is just 27 years old. He told the Arsenal club website: “No, nothing in particular yet, 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.
Kieran Tierney ‘interested’ in coaching badges and dog shelter
“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.”
Tierney has made 135 appearances for Arsenal since arriving from Celtic in 2019. At points, he has been a key player for Mikel Arteta but has struggled for minutes in recent seasons. He spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Real Sociedad in La Liga.
Reflecting on his development since a youngster, Tierney said: “I’ve been a first-team player for 10 years, which is a long time, so I feel experienced. A lot has changed in my life as well. I moved away from home for the first time when I came here, I’ve played abroad for a year, so I enjoy learning different things and putting myself out of my comfort zone.
“Last year for example at Real Sociedad, where the manager doesn’t speak English, it’s a new league, a new culture. But to be honest the hardest jump was moving away from home for the first time and coming to London in 2019. I was a lot more mature by the time I went to Spain, and I’ve grown up a lot in the last few years.”
Arsenal defender to join Celtic this summer
Celtic confirmed earlier this year that Tierney would reunite with the side in July 2025 after a month of rumours suggesting the defender could make the move to join Brendan Rodgers’ side earlier than that. Speaking about Tierney in January, Rodgers said: “Ideally it would [happen in January] but, at this moment, he’s still an Arsenal player. I think everyone is agreed that it will definitely take place in the summer. If we can do it beforehand, then great.
“I don’t know. I think that, like I said, we’d prepared that for the summer. And I don’t want to speak too much on it, with the greatest respect, because he’s not a Celtic player here now with us. But, if we were able to do it, of course we would like to do that. But that’s out of our control at this moment in time.”
In other news, one nation’s media have slammed an international Arsenal star after defeat last week.