Kieran Tierney has confirmed that Arsenal have no plans to recall him from his loan with Real Sociedad despite Mikel Arteta losing Takehiro Tomiyasu to international duty and Oleksandr Zinchenko struggling with a calf problem.
Supporters have speculated in the last few days that the Scotland international, an ever-popular figure on the terraces, could be a short-term solution to the Gunners’ potential issues at left-back. With the rumours reaching San Sebastien, Tierney has been quick to nip them in the bud.
“Several people have already asked me if I was going to return to Arsenal now and the answer is no,” he told the Daily Record.
“I’m going to stay here for sure. As for staying here longer, the decision is not mine. But the only thing I can say is that I love playing for Real [Sociedad]. And I’m enjoying it very much.”
The 26-year-old has played five matches on the bounce for Sociedad since returning from a serious hamstring injury that ruled him out for two months. Four of those five have been draws and the dropped points has seen his side slip down the La Liga rankings to sixth.
Still, they qualified from Champions League Group D as winners and have a mouthwatering double-header with PSG on the horizon. Given he’s playing regularly, you can see why he’d want to stay.
Tierney has 18 months left on his contract at Emirates Stadium and will likely be sold next summer to make room for new recruits.
Several sources, including The Athletic, claim the Gunners have earmarked Ajax youngster Jorrel Hato as a possible replacement. The 17-year-old has already been capped by Holland and has worn the captain’s armband for his club.
It seems unlikely the player will be targeted in January – he won’t be eligible for a UK work permit until he turns 18 – but a summer move could be in the offing.
If Zinchenko is unavailable at left-back for Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash with Liverpool, the Gunners will likely turn to Jakub Kiwior. The Poland international hasn’t looked wholly comfortable in the position but at least he won’t have to face Mohamed Salah, who has already departed for the African Cup of Nations.
If Arsenal win or lose, they can then spend a couple of weeks deliberating over transfers ahead of Crystal Palace’s visit to the Emirates on 20 January. The aim is to head to Dubai for a short warm-weather training camp. A draw after 90 minutes will mean a replay at Anfield and scuppers those plans.
Bring me Hato – Saliba quality potential 📈
Our mini Dutch renaissance. Wouldn’t hate De Jong in our left 8 either
Would still love to try Souza at left back in the cup, if he has a good game it could save us alot of money and headaches in the next few months
Tell you what, he cant be any worse defensively than Z, thats for sure. Laziest defending in the league by far.
Certainly defends poorly at times, fair to say we’ve seen the errors. I strongly disagree it’s from laziness and lack of effort thought, Zinny is a passionate guy who clearly leaves it all on the field.
Upbeat in attacking, lazy in defending. Opposing strikers would confirm this.
where is my striker please
Getting a new striker in the winter window is almost impossible unless the club is prepared to pay a fortune.
A good wide forward then. Someone to take the burden off Saka and Martinelli. Having undercooked replacements Arteta doesn’t trust (eg Nelson) is a recipe for disaster because we will 100% need them. No forward = no success this season I am afraid (depending on your definition of success).
I feel you, bro, no cup no epl championship no CL. That to me is a failure for such a big club.
That would be Jesus, after we get a top striker in the summer
Osimhen, hopefully.
Osimhen is not a guy wants a new challenge. He just wants new money.
Martinelli is partly struggling from being isolated on the left with no support from his full back because Zinchenko won’t run on the outside. Defences struggle more when there’s a full back who can overlap because it creates doubt if the winger has the option of coming inside and making the full back the winger or going outside with the full back in support. Right now, Martinelli has a mountain of work to do and no support. Buying someone to come in and take the burden off him while keeping the same system won’t fix that problem.
I would have loved him to come back but I can understand why he isn’t interested. Arteta screwed him over big time, replacing him with a hybrid midfielder/defender who can’t defend anywhere near as well and who might provide the occasional Hollywood pass but gives the ball away far too much and drastically reduces Arsenal’s movement down the left. So much so that the attacking burden on Martinelli is far in excess of what he would be doing if he had an attacking full back to support him, not to mention the reduced burden on Gabriel if he had a… Read more »
Why not play Kiwior with Saliba in the middle and move Gabriel to the left back position. Gabriel is very mobile, and is well experienced to manage the shift, whereas Kiwior has shown that he feels more comfortable in the middle.
For our game against Liverpool on Sunday