£25m Arsenal ace makes 'one million per cent' claim as he opens up on summer exit

The £25 million Arsenal man did not officially confirm what the future holds for him at the Premier League challengers. 

But the comments he made in the build up to Saturday’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion certainly suggest that a permanent move to the club who signed him on loan last summer is unlikely to be on the cards.

In truth, Kieran Tierney, farmed out to Real Sociedad after falling behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in Mikel Arteta’s pecking order, was always unlikely to turn his temporary switch into a permanent one. 

There is, after all, no option to buy clause in his contract. La Real are reportedly pursuing replacements – Real Betis ace Juan Miranda has been linked – and he’d likely be too expensive anyway for a club who have only once broken the £20 million barrier. 

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Speaking to the Scottish Sun with his old employers Celtic travelling to Rangers in a colossal Old Firm derby this weekend, Tierney could hardly be more positive about his time on Spanish soil. But the Scotland international certainly sounds like a man who will be saying his goodbyes when the current campaign comes to an end. 

“I’m playing for one of the best teams in La Liga. It’s a young side with plenty of home-grown players and a great head coach (in Imanol Alguacil),” Tierney smiles. “I feel I can relate to a lot of players. I, too, came through the ranks at the club I was born into and grew up with.

“One million per cent, it’s a club that will always be in my heart. I’ll always follow Sociedad, always support them. And there are people I’ll stay in touch with forever.”

The question remains, then, what does the future hold for Tierney at Arsenal?

Jakub Kiwior has established himself as a trusty left-back option under Arteta in recent months, putting speculation over his own future to bed for the time being. Will Arsenal look to move on Tierney – there will surely be plenty of clubs keen on a player with his pace, tenacity and technical ability – or instead look to reinstate the 26-year-old into their squad? The Gunners, for all their strengths, are lacking a natural, overlapping left-back of Tierney’s ilk. 

If the Celtic academy graduate does go, Arsenal may bring in Ferdi Kadioglu as a replacement. HITC understands that there is interest at the Emirates Stadium in the versatile Turkey international. 

Arsenal also like the right-sided full-back that is Michael Kayode of Fiorentina. A number of midfielders and strikers are under consideration too. One of those targets, Martin Zubimendi, plays alongside Tierney in the Basque country and has made quite the impression on the Scot. 

“(Real Sociedad) have world-class players like Zubimendi,” Tierney told The Guardian. “It’s not that people don’t think they’re good.

“It’s just that if you’re only watching the Premier League every week, it’s hard to know (how good these players are). They’re world-class.”