Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has no interest in reintegrating one player back into his side.
The Gunners boss has built a terrific squad at the Emirates. He has turned a really poor Arsenal side into one of the best teams in the world in a few years’ time.
Now, Arsenal need to go to the next level, and to do that, Arteta needs to sell some of his current players and replace them with much better footballers.
Mikel Arteta makes brutal Kieran Tierney decision at Arsenal
Arsenal signed Kieran Tierney from Celtic in the summer of 2019 for £25 million (Sky Sports).
The Scotland international became an instant fan favourite at the Emirates. He was arguably their best defender in his first few years at the club, but things changed in 2022.
Arsenal signed Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City and the Ukrainian became the club’s first-choice left-back.
Arteta’s insistence on playing a system that involves an inverted full-back further hurt Tierney’s chances of being a regular at Arsenal.
In the 2023 summer transfer window, the Scot decided to join Real Sociedad on a season-long loan deal. He had a decent campaign there and is now set to return to the Emirates.
TeamTalk have now revealed that Arteta is completely ‘against’ giving Tierney another opportunity at Arsenal in the upcoming season.
The Gunners want to sell him now and have slapped a £25 million price tag, which is the same fee they paid to sign him five years ago.
Tierney will still have two years left on his Arsenal contract this summer.
READ MORE: Kieran Tierney says Real Sociedad fans would love to sign 25-year-old Arsenal player
The big reason why Tierney is no longer wanted at Arsenal
On his day, Tierney has the ability to be one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.
The Scot is very quick, excellent with his overlapping runs and his crossing ability is exceptional. As a traditional full-back, he has everything in his game.
However, the big issue with Tierney has always been his availability.
The defender’s injury record since joining Arsenal is shocking – he missed 19 games each in his first two seasons and 17 in the next for club and country.
Even in the 2023/24 campaign, when he was on loan at Real Sociedad, Tierney missed 21 games in all competitions.
That is the biggest reason why things have not worked out for him at Arsenal, which is a shame as he’s such a good player when he’s fit.