Kieran Tierney’s return to Celtic from Arsenal has been welcomed by the vast majority of supporters.
The Scotland fullback became one of Celtic’s most expensive transfers in the club’s history after Tierney joined Arsenal back in 2019.
After having a storming start to his career with the London club, Tierney eventually found himself out on the periphery of Mikel Arteta’s first team after injury, and the form of Oleksandr Zinchenko kept the Celtic hero on the Arsenal bench.
However, it’s the emergence of a ‘fearless’ talent at the Premier League club that Kevin Gallacher says was the ‘key factor’ in ensuring Tierney’s return to Celtic happened this summer.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly was crucial in Kieran Tierney’s Celtic return
Gallacher wrote in The Sunday Post [print edition page 88]: “He is a kid who has known nothing but success so far and it shows in his play. He is fearless out there.
“We know a bit about him in Scotland, too, as his emergence has been a key factor in Arsenal’s decision not to renew Kieran Tierney’s deal but instead to let him move on in the summer.
“Celtic have managed to persuade him to return to his first love and Scotland boss Clarke will be hoping he gets plenty of first-team football up here as he is an important player for the country.”
Kieran Tierney’s Arsenal record vs Celtic
Despite there being a common misconception that Tierney is always injured, the Celtic hero has played a lot of minutes for the Premier League club.
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With his return to Celtic imminent, 67 Hail Hail has decided to take a look at the Scotland defender’s record at Arsenal and compare it to his time at Paradise.
Kieran Tierney’s record Played Goals Assists Minutes on pitch
Celtic 170 8 37 14,547
Arsenal 135 5 13 8,521
Tierney has averaged 63 minutes per game at Arsenal and 85 minutes per game whilst at Celtic which dispels the myth that the 27-year-old has hardly featured for the Gunners.
Celtic fans will be happy knowing that a quality defender who was once worth £25m is not coming back to the club for free.
All Rodgers needs to do now is to find his backup as the Celtic manager ponders what to do with Jeffrey Schlupp and Greg Taylor’s situation at the Bhoys.