Mikel Arteta has every right to drop me at Arsenal - but I can copy William Saliba return

Kieran Tierney has confessed that there is "every chance" he could still depart Arsenal despite failing to secure a move away in the summer.

The defender spent last season on loan at La Liga's Real Sociedad, playing 26 times despite suffering from injuries. Tierney hasn't played for the Gunners since the Community Shield win over Manchester City in 2023.

Arsenal acquired Tierney from Celtic in 2019 for around £25 million, where he became the first-choice left-back until Oleksandr Zinchenko's arrival from Manchester City in 2022.

The arrivals of Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori in the past two summers has meant the Scotland international has fallen further down Mikel Arteta's pecking order.

In the summer, Tierney insisted there was every chance he may have already played his final game for the north Londoners. "There is every chance. Look at the squad depth in that position now," he told The Athletic.

"They have [Oleksandr] 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."

He added, "Stranger things have happened. I could go back and there is a place for me. So I'm prepared for both."

The Scottish defender also expressed his understanding of Mikel Arteta's decision to bring in Zinchenko, saying, "There are no hard feelings or spite from me," and "I understand the decision of the manager to change me from No 1 to No 2. It's football."

Tierney praised Arteta's tactical choices, stating, "It never happened in a personal way. It was tactical. He [Arteta] thought it was best to get Arsenal results and he was 100 per cent correct, when you look at it. They were close to winning the league last year, and this year I think they'll do it."

Tierney also shared his appreciation for the Arsenal fans' continued support, even after his move to Real Sociedad. "The Arsenal fans are amazing. Whenever I post, or Sociedad post, there are still fans saying, 'We wish you were here'. It makes me happy, as they could easily just forget about me because I'm not there anymore."

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