‘Look at the squad depth in that position now’ – Arsenal star convinced will leave the club | OneFootball

Kieran Tierney has admitted that his chances of playing for Arsenal again are as slim as they come due to their current depth at left back.

The Scotland international is on a season-long loan in La Liga with Real Sociedad and is set to return to the Gunners this summer.

Tierney initially lost his place in the team to Oleksandr Zinchenko after the Ukraine international was signed from Manchester City in 2022.

Arsenal have since bolstered their options at left-back, and the 26-year-old is not convinced that there is a place for him at the club.

“There is every chance,” Tierney told The Athletic when asked whether he will move on this summer.

“Look at the squad depth in that position now. They have Zinchenko, (Jurrien) Timber, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu, (Jakub) Kiwior. Four players can play there.

“So if I go back and it’s the same as before, then I’m not silly – I know the chances are I’ll be leaving.

“But you never know in football. You get the rare case with (William) Saliba, where he came back after a couple of good seasons (out on loan).

“But you don’t see it too often with someone who has played for four years, left, and then come back to play again.

“Stranger things have happened. I could go back and there is a place for me. So I’m prepared for both.”

He has featured in 21 games for Sociedad this term, weighing in with two assists. He will not be short of suitors in the summer,r given his quality.

However, a return to Arsenal is unlikely to happen as he has not played as an inverted full-back in Spain and could struggle to start learning it all over again.

The strength of the game of the former Celtic star is his ability to gallop down the line, and Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has moved on from that style of play.

Tierney could not convince the Arsenal boss that he is capable of playing as an inverted left-back despite his best attempts.

It makes sense for both parties to part ways permanently in the summer given the current depth in the position.