Kieran Tierney has Arsenal exit 'prevented' as Celtic love in with Brendan Rodgers goes beyond emotional reunion

Kieran Tierney of Arsenal
-Credit: (Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)


Injury reportedly brought an abrupt halt to Kieran Tierney's permanent Arsenal exit with chat over a move back to Celtic escalating.

The left-back was spotted with Brendan Rodgers' at the club charity foundation's annual gala in London fans are now dreaming that a dream return will be revived. The Scotland defender hasn't kicked a ball since he was sidelined through injury at Euro 2024 after spending last season away from the Premier League giants at Real Sociedad.

Mikel Arteta is said to have told the left-back his time is up at the Emirates and that the door is open for a January loan move away from North London to give him a platform to earn a permanent Arsenal exit the following summer. However, the Evening Standard claim that the 27-year-old could have made a dream move back to the Scottish Premiership had he not picked up a hamstring knock at the tournament in Germany.

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It is noted that Tierney "is unlikely to play much of a role for Arsenal this season when fit" with summer recruit Riccardo Calafiori the current go-to left back for the Premier League heavyweights and the Gunners "now having plenty of options at full-back". It is claimed that the latest injury blow "prevented a permanent summer exit for the former Celtic star."

And after the defender - who is approaching the final 18 months of his Arsenal contract - was spotted chatting with Rodgers at the charity do, the fans are daring to dream of a move back to Celtic Park for the £110-per-week star.

The pair haven't been shy in publicly praising each other either - with boss Rodgers admitting back in 2023 he couldn't rule out Tierney making his way back to Glasgow's east end: "When I spoke to him down the road in the Premier League, every time we met up all we talked about was Celtic. He’s a Celtic man but he’s at a fantastic club in Arsenal.

‘"You can just never say never in football. Who knows what might happen? We wouldn’t be able to buy Kieran for £25-£30million, that’s for sure, or the figures I see banded about.

Brendan Rodgers and Kieran Tierney -Credit:Celtic FC Foundation
Brendan Rodgers and Kieran Tierney -Credit:Celtic FC Foundation

"I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to pay the huge salary he’s on. However, one can never tell. Kieran has an incredible history with the club. He was a massive part of my time here, so there will always be that link. You never know."

For his part, Tierney thrived under the tutelage of Rodgers at Celtic and the Scotland star lavished praise on his former boss in 2022. He added: "When you're younger, you don't know about tactics, but he taught me about football. I don't think I'd be the player who got a move without him. He shaped me."

He also told the Currie Club podcast that Rodgers convinced him not to move to the Gunners - with the club showing interest THREE YEARS before he eventually made the move: “I also remember the first conversation I had with him because there were rumours of me actually going to Arsenal that season as well.

"I think they had placed a bid. But he spoke to me and said, ‘We want you to stay here. We want you to play and get all these games under your belt, become a senior pro and not just a young player’.”

And Tierney refused to rule out a dream return to his boyhood club - admitting in June he would only consider a move back to Celtic Park if he was "100 per cent" fit. He told The Athletic: "I’ll be a different player to what I was, as I’ve been away for years, but I wouldn’t want to go back if I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent in my body. I know the intensity and the demand to win so, if I go back, it will be when I’m still feeling good.”