Arsenal

The Gunners left-back started his first competitive game for the club since May 2023 in his side's 3-2 victory against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Tierney was sent out on loan to Real Sociedad last term, playing 20 times in La Liga, two times in the Champions League and four times in the Copa del Rey.

The 27-year-old has found himself down the pecking order at the Emirates, with Arteta shifting right-back Jurrien Timber to left-back and dropping midfielder Thomas Partey into defence against Fulham on December 8.

David Ornstein reports in The Athletic that Arsenal will not exercise their option to extend Tierney's contract by 12 months and will instead allow him to leave the club for free in the summer transfer window.

Plagued by injuries

Tierney joined Arsenal from Celtic in 2019 for a reported fee of £25m, and his appearance against Palace was his 125th match for the club.

However, the left-back was substituted in the 69th minute and was seen limping off, but despite Mikel Arteta allaying fears of an injury, his substitution was perhaps symbolic of his time with the Gunners.

The defender had knee surgery in March, was sidelined by a shoulder issue in 2020 and had groin surgery in 2019, and he played just 795 minutes in the league for Arsenal in 2022-23.

In fact, the Scotsman has missed 113 football matches due to injury since signing for Arsenal, missing key games during the Gunners' title charge in 2022-23.

There have been suggestions that Tierney could re-join Celtic in the summer, but given he has had experience in Spain, perhaps he may have suitors abroad.

Do Arsenal have the strength in depth to cope?

Arsenal have strengthened considerably in defence over the past seasons, with signings Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori and Timber all capable of playing left-back.

Others such as Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu also have experience on the left side of defence, and it is fair to say that Arteta boasts incredible depth when his squad is fit.

Having said that, there have long been concerns about Zinchenko's defensive level, with Calafiori's signing in the summer seen by many fans as Arteta's attempt to upgrade on the Ukrainian.

While Calafiori has shown promise during his time at the Emirates, the Italian has been blighted by injury issues himself, as have Tomiyasu and Kiwior.

Though Tierney has great ability as both a left-back and as a centre-back throughout his career, it would ultimately difficult to justify renewing his contract given his injury history.

Written by

Lewis Nolan