Journalist Charles Watts has now had his say on how he expects Arsenal to handle the future of on-loan defender Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal allowed Kieran Tierney to join Real Sociedad on a season-long loan deal in the recent summer transfer window.
The Scottish left-back fell down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium last season, following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. The Ukrainian is able to play the left-back role in an inverted fashion, meaning that he habitually drifts into the middle of the park to bolster the Gunners’ midfield unit when they are looking to construct attacking moves.
It is clearly Mikel Arteta’s preference for his left-back to operate in this manner, and the former Celtic man struggled to adapt to these instructions. Tierney has recently admitted that he is no longer an ideal tactical fit at Arsenal under Arteta.
Tierney is a far more conventional full-back, who specialises in pushing up the flank to provide an overlapping run and deliver crosses into the box. He produced some excellent performances in an Arsenal shirt, but it is hard to see him ever featuring for the north London club again.
Can Kieran Tierney still play a part for Arsenal?
That is certainly the view held by Charles Watts. Discussing what the future may hold for Tierney on his Inside Arsenal YouTube platform, the reporter said, “I think Tierney’s time at Arsenal is coming to an end. I don’t know where he’s going to go in the summer, Arsenal are open to selling him permanently. Last summer they couldn’t do that, no real bids came in for him, so they sent him off to Sociedad. Whether Sociedad will turn out permanently in the summer, we’ll have to wait and see. He’s made a good impact there, but he has had injuries again which have disrupted his season…I don’t see a way back for him at Arsenal.”
Bringing Tierney back into the first-team fold at Arsenal would be a backwards step. He is a solid player, but his injury record is a real issue, and he lacks the tactical flexibility that Arteta wants in his full-backs. Ben White has recently impressed with his ability to invert. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber can both play anywhere across the back line. Jakub Kiwior has even caught the eye with his recent showings at left-back. Tierney does not offer such versatility.
Arteta and sporting director Edu will be hoping that they can offload the 41-cap Scotland international permanently in the summer, in exchange for a decent fee. If he can finish his season strongly in La Liga, then that will help to drive his value up further. He will have to stay fit for long enough in order to do that, though. Tierney’s injuries could prove to be a major barrier to Arsenal’s summer plans for the player, as they could easily dissuade potential suitors from coming forward.