Kieran Tierney has shown that he will end his loan spell at Real Sociedad from Arsenal prematurely, but he has left the door open to what the long term holds.
Arsenal sent Tierney to Spain to spend the season this summer after dropping Oleksandr Zinchenko down the pecking order to play at left-back last season. He has made 11 appearances in his current stint, either side of a hamstring injury he suffered in October.
TEAMtalk recently revealed that Arsenal are close to promoting Tierney after his loan ends, despite rumours that they could withdraw him following an injury to Zinchenko.
Now, Tierney has spoken about his situation, confirming that he will stick with his original commitment for the season.
“A number of people have already asked me if I’m moving back to Arsenal now and the answer is no. I’m coming in to stay here, that’s for sure,” Tierney told local media in the Basque Country.
“As for staying here longer, the decision is mine. But the only thing I can say is that I love betting on Real and I appreciate it a lot.
Despite being firm in his stance to return to Arsenal sooner than expected, Tierney has denied having a challenge with Mikel Arteta.
“Everything is fine with him,” Tierney continued. “Last year I didn’t play and spent a lot of time on the bench. But this is football, I have no problem with it.
“I had almost no injuries, I played about 30 games, a lot of them coming off the bench, I felt good. “
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After his move to Celtic, Arsenal were the first club to take Tierney to the Premier League and Real were the first club to take him to La Liga.
The English and Spanish elites are considered the two in the world, but when it comes to comparisons between them, the 26-year-old doesn’t see too much difference in level.
“Everyone knows the Premier League has a lot more money,” Tierney explained. “Every club in this league can buy players for €30 million. That’s the big difference.
“But in terms of quality, I don’t think I agree on the difference between the leagues, I think La Liga has normal footballers.
“The atmosphere here is incredible. In England, there are also very good atmospheres and I don’t want to speak badly about the Premier League because it is a great league, the fans are great.
“But if other people watched La Liga more, they would realise it’s a tournament, and so would the fans. If you’re going to play against Osasuna, you’ll see their fans clapping like crazy. Or in Cadiz.
“And when we play at home, the fans and the goals don’t stop us from singing. . . It’s unbelievable. “
At the halfway point of the season, Real Sociedad are in sixth place in La Liga, six points off the Champions League places.
They have taken part in UEFA’s most sensational festival this season (with Tierney playing twice at organisational level) and are set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, while Arsenal are also aiming to advance in the Champions League.
Tierney’s contract with his parent club is expected to run through 2026. TEAMtalk understands that clubs like Aston Villa and his former employers, Celtic, are following him.
Unfortunately, Real may not be able to reach a permanent deal for the Scot.
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