Amidst all the drama surrounding Kieran Tierney’s journey back home to Celtic, Real Sociedad has successfully struck a loan deal with the full-back in between. The Scottish international travels to Spain after penning a €5 million loan deal with no buy option clause included.
Official, confirmed. Kieran Tierney joins Real Sociedad on loan from Arsenal — no buy option clause included ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/Cg5ZlX1bs2
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 27, 2023
Tierney’s position at Arsenal was always at risk post Zinchenko’s arrival but things have been worse for the 26-year-old than expected. He is not even the second-choice left-back for Arteta which was made clear by the manager in the opening matches of the Premier League where he did not feature Kieran albeit Zinchenko not playing due to injury.
The Scottish international and a regular for the national team, he did enjoy a good run of matches for the club. Kieran Tierney’s first season for Arsenal under Unai Emery was a breakthrough season where he had won the plaudits of one and all. He had finished the 2019-2020 season on a high, scoring a goal in Arsenal’s final match against Watford.
Kieran Tierney did feature in 30+ games last season but his total minutes on the mat dropped by nearly 700. He wasn’t a regular in the Premier League and most of his gametime was in the Europa League and other domestic championships.
The left-back did feature in a recent Community Shield victory over Manchester City but his exile from the first three matches made it confirmed that his time in the Premier League will be weighed sitting on the bench.
Rumours of his exit from the club to Newcastle United have been linked since January. Newcastle United were continuously chasing the full-back but a deal failed to cement courtesy his heavy wages. Even Celtic had to let go of their hometown hero who left them for £25 million in August 2019 because of heavy wages.
Tierney has his contract with Arsenal till 2026 but will be leaving on loan to Real Sociedad for this year, at least.
