Arsenal star ‘expected to leave’ after Arteta snub for Prem opener, as Romano reiterates ‘interested’ party
Albert Sambi Lokonga and Kieran Tierney pictured after Arsenal game
Arsenal have left Kieran Tierney out of their squad completely for their Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest, which has led Fabrizio Romano to predict his departure from the club.
Last season, Tierney fell behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order for the starting left-back berth at Arsenal. It has put doubt on his future for the current transfer window, since a player of his pedigree won’t want to spend another season on the bench.
And Tierney isn’t even among the substitutes for Arsenal on Saturday as they get their Premier League campaign underway at home to Nottingham Forest.
According to Romano, the Scotland international is now ‘expected to leave Arsenal’ in the coming weeks after not being selected for the match.
His next destination could be in Spain, since Real Sociedad remain ‘interested’ in offering him a fresh challenge after their admiration was recently revealed. They could offer him a new platform in La Liga as well as Champions League involvement.
However, Romano has revealed that La Real want to take Tierney on loan, whereas Arsenal ‘insist’ on a permanent transfer. Therefore, there will be more negotiations next week, while the door also remains open to other potential bidders for the defender.
Tierney came off the bench for Arsenal last week when they won the Community Shield against Manchester City on penalties. But things have now taken a turn to indicate his future could lie away from the club.
Arsenal still have Tierney under contract until 2026. But it now appears likely that someone else will buy the 26-year-old this summer.
Time for Tierney to find new challenge
He has made 124 appearances across his Arsenal career, which began in 2019 when he joined them from Celtic. There has even been speculation of a reunion with Brendan Rodgers, but Romano has only mentioned Real Sociedad in his latest update.
La Real’s squad consists mainly of Spaniards and Tierney would actually be the first Scottish international to ever represent them if he chose that destination.
How much it might take to convince Arsenal to sell him remains to be seen, but the fact he is out of the picture for the Forest match may be a sign that they are open to offloading him.
Of his 27 Premier League appearances last season, only six were starts, which indicates why he might be better off finding a new club.
TEAMtalk reported a couple of weeks ago that no offers had yet arrived for Tierney, while our insider Charles Watts thought clubs should have been ‘banging down the door’ for him, but the situation could be about to change.
