There aren’t many players who are more popular than Kieran Tierney.
But these last few months would have been emotional for Tierney, because he is set to leave Arsenal and re-join Celtic when his contract expires at the end of June.
Tierney scored in his final Arsenal game when Mikel Arteta’s side beat already-relegated Southampton 2-1 on the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
It has been well-documented for a while now that the 27-year-old will head for the Emirates exit door and make a return to his boyhood club.
And sometimes, you know the true worth of a man by how others treat him when he is going, and is gone.
Sometimes, they say ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’, and Arsenal’s club photographer giving a shoutout to Tierney says it all.
Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Arsenal photographer Stuart MacFarlane lauds returning Celtic hero Kieran Tierney
Some fans would have seen Stuart MacFarlane around the Arsenal set-up. He featured in the club’s Amazon documentary, All or Nothing, and is a popular member at the London club.
But, with Tierney set to leave, MacFarlane took his time out to send the left-back a message by labelling him a ‘Celtic man’ on Instagram.
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‘A Celtic man who’ll always be one of us #KT3 ❤️#arsenal,’ wrote MacFarlane.
Tierney responded on IG himself by adding: ‘What a guy. Legend, mate. Will miss you’.
How Arsenal reacted to Tierney’s exit
With the season done and dusted, fans are now starting to find out the changes that are being made to the squads, including who is leaving and staying.
This applies to players whose contracts are at an end, and that includes Tierney, as he returns to Celtic on a free following his £25 million transfer in 2019.
When Arsenal put out information on their released and retained list on Wednesday, they showed their love for Tierney.
💬 “It'll be hard but it's a happy goodbye. I've loved it here, loved every minute of it."
Thank you for everything, Kieran ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 4, 2025
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Tierney’s career in north London might have ended in a way the player wouldn’t have liked, in regards to his lack of game time.
But he leaves with his head held high, and what is going to be Arsenal’s loss will now be Celtic’s gain.