Arteta refuses to rule out summer sale of €40m Arsenal fan favourite

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 1 Mar 2023 19:23 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out the sale of Kieran Tierney in the summer.

The Scotland international signed for the Gunners in 2019 and rapidly developed into a favourite of the fans thanks to his committed approach and quality at left-back.

However, the 25-year-old has been restricted to just a handful of Premier League starts this season because of the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has arrived at the Emirates and performed to a high standard.

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Tierney, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of more than €41 million, has played just 460 Premier League minutes this season and has been linked with a possible summer move to Newcastle.

Arteta has fanned suggestions of a move by conspicuously failing to reject those claims.

“I don’t know, I’m not thinking about it. I’m thinking about what’s best for the team,” he said when asked of the former Celtic star’s future.

“Players have the right to play minutes, which they all deserve, we’re going to try to do that in the next games.”

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Will Tierney leave Arsenal?

The return of European football should help Tierney get the competitive minutes he so dearly craves. He has started all of Arsenal’s six Europa League matches to date, grabbing a goal and an assist in the group stages.

However, his involvement in the Premier League title race is likely to be limited unless Zinchenko picks up an injury late in the season.

Tierney can also play centre- and right-back, but so far this season Arteta has used him exclusively in his favoured position on the left.

Having been restricted to so few minutes having been previously considered an automatic starter – and one of Arsenal’s stronger players – it would be little surprise to see him push for a move after the door to the first team has been apparently slammed in his face.

Newcastle will represent an attractive proposition for Tierney. Not only are they a side liable to be battling for Champions League football – if not more – in years ahead, they are also closer to his family in Scotland.