Arsenal
Premier League • England
Arsenal return categorically ruled out by Kieran Tierney as defender addresses Real Sociedad stay chances
Kieran Tierney has confirmed he will not be ending his loan spell at Real Sociedad from Arsenal prematurely, but has left the door open for what the future holds.
Arsenal sent Tierney to Spain for the season in the summer after he fell behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the hierarchy to play at left-back last season. He has made 11 appearances in his current spell, either side of a hamstring injury he suffered in October.
TEAMtalk recently revealed that Arsenal are set to sell Tierney after his loan spell ends, despite rumours elsewhere that they could recall him after an injury to Zinchenko.
Now, Tierney has opened up on his situation, confirming he is going to stick to his original commitment for the season.
“Several people have already asked me if I was going to return to Arsenal now and the answer is no. I’m going to stay here for sure,” Tierney told local media in the Basque Country.
“As for staying here longer, the decision is not mine. But the only thing I can say is that I love playing for Real. And I’m enjoying it very much.”
Despite being firm in his stance of not going back to Arsenal ahead of schedule, Tierney has denied he has any issue with Mikel Arteta.
“Everything is fine with him,” Tierney continued. “Last year I didn’t play and spent a lot of time on the bench. But this is football, I have no problem with it.
“I had almost no injuries, I played about 30 games, many coming off the bench, but I felt fine.”
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Tierney compares Premier League to La Liga
After he developed at Celtic, Arsenal were the first club to bring Tierney to the Premier League – and La Real are the first club to have him in La Liga.
The English and Spanish top flights are widely regarded as the best two in the world, but as for the comparisons between them, the 26-year-old does not see too much difference of level.
“Everyone knows that the Premier League has much more money,” Tierney explained. “All clubs competing in that league can buy footballers for €30million. That’s the big difference.
“But when it comes to quality, I don’t think I agree about the difference between the leagues, I think La Liga has extraordinary footballers.
“The atmosphere here is incredible. In England, there are also very good atmospheres and I don’t want to speak badly about the Premier League because it is a great league, the fans are great.
“But if people saw La Liga more they would realise that it is an incredible tournament and so are the fans. If you go to play against Osasuna, you see their fans cheering like crazy. Or in Cadiz.
“And when we play at home, the fans behind the goals don’t stop singing… it’s great.”
At the halfway stage of the season, Real Sociedad are sixth in La Liga, six points away from the Champions League places.
They have been in UEFA’s top competition this season – Tierney playing twice in the group stage – and have a round of 16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain to look forward to, while Arsenal also aim to make progress in the Champions League.
Tierney’s contract with his parent club is due to last until 2026. TEAMtalk understands clubs like Aston Villa and his former employers Celtic have been tracking him.
La Real, unfortunately, might not be able to afford a permanent deal for the Scotsman.