Journalist shares when £25m Arsenal player realised he might need to leave this summer

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Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney may leave the club this summer after a frustrating season at The Emirates.

Journalist James McNicholas has shared his thoughts on the Scottish international’s future.

Kieran Tierney could well be on his way out of Arsenal in the upcoming transfer window.

He’s been linked with a move to Newcastle after dropping down the pecking order at Arsenal.

Brought in from Celtic for £25m, Tierney was Arsenal’s first-choice left-back for three seasons.

Injuries curtailed all of those campaigns, but the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko had a much bigger impact on his minutes.

The Ukrainian allowed Mikel Arteta to play a different system where he drifted into midfield.

However, when he was unavailable, Arteta didn’t always turn to Tierney to replace him.

McNicholas has highlighted the moment Tierney may have realised he needed to leave Arsenal.

He’s still highly rated within the fan base, but it’s understandable that he may want to go if he’s not playing regularly.

Tierney might leave Arsenal this summer

Speaking on the Arsecast podcast, McNicholas said: “I still think the selection of [Takehiro] Tomiyasu ahead of him earlier in the season was probably one of the moments where Kieran Tierney thought, ‘I might need to think about going somewhere else’.”

Mikel Arteta experimented with several different players in the full-back areas.

Ben White spent most of the season at right-back, meaning Takehiro Tomiyasu could occasionally be used on the left.

Towards the end of the season, both Thomas Partey and Jakub Kiwior were also tested as wide defenders.

Tierney appeared in 27 league games, but the vast majority were from the bench.

As well as Newcastle, Unai Emery is considering signing Tierney if he decides to leave Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta won’t want to be left short of full-back options and is unlikely to have been convinced by Kiwior’s cameos in that role.

The Gunners therefore have to decide if they want to spend more money on replacing Tierney or keep him as a backup instead.

With the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo likely to be very expensive signings, Tierney may only be allowed to leave if they receive a very good offer.

The Scot might have to force his way out of the club if he’s desperate to play more games next season.