Kieran Tierney made his first appearance for Arsenal since May 2023 in the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace. However, the defender's time at the Emirates appears to be coming to an end. The Gunners will listen to offers for Tierney in January when his contract expires.
Tierney certainly has options even if he doesn't play for Arsenal. The left-back has been plagued by injuries but at 27 he still has plenty of time to contribute. In fact, he showed his worth in the game against Palace.
Tierney joined the Emirates for £25m from Celtic, months before Mikel Arteta replaced Unai Emery as Arsenal manager in 2019. For a time, the Scottish defender was Arsenal's best player. Tierney was a key part of the Gunners' FA Cup-winning squad in 2020, and was even touted as a potential captain for the Gunners.
However, looking back at Arteta’s five years at the Emirates, Arsenal have clearly evolved in many ways. Arsenal are a very different side to five years ago, both in terms of personnel and style of play. Tierney’s qualities were rendered redundant by the arrival of versatile defender Oleksandr Zinchenko in 2022.
Zinchenko, like Tierney, could soon be seen as another casualty of evolution at the Emirates. Arteta’s preferred left-back is currently Riccardo Calafiori, a player with physical strengths as well as technical qualities.
So Tierney’s departure from the Emirates may not be far off. Tierney is not necessarily the longest-serving player in the current Arsenal squad. That’s Bukayo Saka. But while Saka is leading a new era at the Emirates, Tierney is the last link in the old one.
Asked whether Tierney would leave Arsenal in January, Arteta said: "He has never come to me to talk about leaving. If there was a problem, he would come to me and say 'I think it's time for me to leave'. But that hasn't happened yet."
Tierney has made a total of 125 appearances for Arsenal to date. During that time, the 27-year-old has scored five goals and provided 13 assists for the Gunners.
