Kieran Tierney addresses rumours of rift with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal
- Tierney left Arsenal on a season-long loan for Real Sociedad
- Scotland left-back lost his place at Arsenal last season
- Rumours claimed he had clashed with manager Arteta
By Tom Gott
Kieran Tierney has denied rumours a clash with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta led to his move away from the club this summer.
The Scotland left-back has joined Real Sociedad on a season-long loan deal after a campaign which yielded just six Premier League starts under Arteta, who preferred Oleksandr Zinchenko and January signing Jakub Kiwior in his position.
Despite growing frustrated with his limited minutes, Tierney insisted he left Arsenal on good terms.
"I left because last season I couldn't play a lot and what I wanted was to play a lot of games and I wanted to try to do it at Real," he told reporters. "I don't have any problem with Arsenal.
"Knowing that Real wanted to have me here, feeling all the love from the people here was very good. Being in the Basque Country, having the experience of living here and playing in La Liga, is something I am very proud of. I hope things will go very well for me here."
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Tierney had been earmarked as a potential future captain at Arsenal but Arteta's shift towards inverted full-backs saw the 26-year-old lose his place in the squad to Zinchenko, while centre-back Kiwior also saw minutes on the left last season.
He's not the only Arsenal left-back who will be on the move this summer, with Nuno Tavares set to join Nottingham Forest on a loan deal which will also include the option for a permanent transfer next summer.
Tierney's move to Sociedad does not include a purchase clause and so he will return to Arsenal next summer, when he will have two years remaining on his contract.
Since joining from Celtic in 2019, Tierney has racked up 124 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, but recorded his lowest Premier League minutes total last season and is now looking to restart his career in Spain.
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