Kieran Tierney has admitted that there is “every chance” he could leave Arsenal on a permanent basis this summer.
Tierney is currently spending the season on loan with Real Sociedad in La Liga. The left-back has made 22 appearances for the Spanish club in a campaign that has seen Tierney deal with some injury concerns.
Two separate hamstring injuries and now an adductor injury have seen Tierney miss 18 games for Sociedad this season. He could make his return this week when Sociedad face Barcelona on Monday night.
Last season saw Tierney make 27 appearances in the Premier League but was only named a starter just six times by manager Mikel Arteta. Now the left-back has opened up on his future with the Gunners, where he admits it’s likely that he will be leaving the Emirates Stadium once again.
“There is every chance,” Tierney told The Athletic when asked if he may have already played his final game for Arsenal. “Look at the squad depth in that position now.
“They have [Oleksandr] Zinchenko, [Jurrien] Timber, [Takehiro] Tomiyasu, [Jakub] Kiwior. Four players can play there. So if I go back and it’s the same as before then I’m not silly, I know the chances are I’ll be leaving.
“But you never know in football. You get the rare case with [William] Saliba, where he came back after a couple of good seasons (out on loan) but you don’t see it too often with someone who has played for four years, left, and then come back to play again.
“Stranger things have happened. I could go back and there is a place for me. So I’m prepared for both.”
Tierney went on to admit that he does not hold any negative feelings towards Arsenal or Arteta for the decision to sign Zinchenko ahead of him. Tierney says that he understands the decision from Arteta, and believes the last two seasons show the right choice was made.
“There are no hard feelings or spite from me,” said Tierney. “I understand the decision of the manager to change me from No 1 to No 2. It’s football.
“It never happened in a personal way. It was tactical. He [Arteta] thought it was best to get Arsenal results and he was 100 per cent correct, when you look at it. They were close to winning the league last year, and this year I think they’ll do it.
“The Arsenal fans are amazing. Whenever I post, or Sociedad post, there are still fans saying, ‘We wish you were here’. It make sme happy, as they could easily just forget about me because I’m not there anymore.”
