Since taking over as Arsenal manager in December 2019, Mikel Arteta has overseen huge changes within the squad. Out of the players in the first starting XI Arteta picked as Gunners boss, only Bukayo Saka is a key player now, with Reiss Nelson still a squad player at the club.
During Arteta’s tenure at the Emirates Stadium, the Premier League side have spent an extraordinary amount on transfers, £586.4m to be exact, on 29 players, including those on free transfers and loans.
Of these signings, Arsenal fans would surely consider around half of them to be a success, factoring in value for money and potential profit.
However, in the summer before Arteta joined, the Gunners spent around one-fifth of their total outgoings under Arteta. The £138m spent in the 2019/20 summer transfer window did not prove to be the best investment for Arsenal, aside from William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli.
The then-club record £72m deal for Nicolas Pepe did not work out, and he left on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract last summer. However, there is one more signing that summer whose move to Arsenal has not worked out how either party would have hoped.
Kieran Tierney’s Arsenal career in numbers
The man in question here is Scotland international Kieran Tierney. The left-back, who was 22 years of age at the time, joined Arsenal for £25m from Celtic in 2019 and signed a five-year deal at the Emirates.
He made 124 appearances for the Gunners in total, scoring five goals and registering 13 assists in that time. However, the left-back was sadly ravaged by injuries during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
2019/20
Shoulder
19
2020/21
Groin
2
2020/21
Knee
14
2021/22
Ankle
3
2021/22
Knee
10
2023/24
Hamstring
9
2023/24
Hamstring
6
Tierney has suffered seven separate cases of injury since 2019, which included a recurrence of a knee injury, an issue that later required surgery. In total, Tierney missed 52 games due to injury during his Arsenal career.
Although he struggled with fitness during in north London, the Scot did manage to win some silverware. The defender won the FA Cup in 2019/20, and the Community Shield twice, in 2020/21 and at the start of this season, when Arsenal beat Manchester City at Wembley.
What the future holds for Tierney in 2024
In the wake of his injuries and plenty of competition at left-back, Tierney departed last summer on a season-long loan to Spanish outfit Real Sociedad. So far, the 26-year-old has played 22 games, and has two assists, although he is yet to score.
Again, injuries have disrupted Tierney’s season so far. A recurring hamstring injury has led him to miss 19 games for Sociedad and Scotland this term, the same number of games he missed in his first year with Arsenal.
Tierney’s current contract expires in the summer of 2026, although Arsenal may well try to get his £110k-per-week deal off their books sooner. Tierney’s current weekly wage exceeds the amount key centre-back Gabriel earns. The Brazilian is currently on just £100k-per-week. It also exceeds Jurrien Timber, now one of Tierney's rivals at left-back. The Dutchman earns £90k-per-week in comparison.
According to TEAMtalk, Tierney has impressed those at Real Sociedad, however, who want to make the move permanent this summer. Alternatively, his boyhood side Celtic are interested in a move for their former left-back, with Aston Villa reportedly considering a move, too.
As per CIES Football Observatory, Tierney’s current value is just £8.5m, although the aforementioned report notes it would take a deal of £25m for the Scotland international to leave this summer, thus meaning Arsenal recoup the fee they paid for him.
Of course, there is every chance Tierney could stay at the Emirates Stadium another year, and fight for his place. With that being said, there is lots of competition for places at left-back for Arsenal, with the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Timber, who is set to return from injury, fighting it out for a starting spot.
It could well be the case that Tierney leaves the Gunners this summer, in search of regular first-team football. Where he would go remains to be seen, but if he can stay injury-free, there is little doubt a club would sign a quality left-back, once a winner of the Scottish Premiership’s Young Player of the Season award three times in a row.
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