Arsenal confirm Kieran Tierney’s loan move to Real Sociedad

Arsenal have announced that Kieran Tierney has joined Real Sociedad on loan for the 2023-24 season. 

The 26-year-old’s loan deal doesn’t include a purchase option and he is expected to return to London at the end of the campaign. 

The left-back joined the Gunners from Scottish side Celtic in 2019 for a reported £25 million fee. 

Since then, he has made 124 appearances in all competitions for the English club, with five goals to his name. 

However, he struggled for game time last season at the Emirates Stadium, starting only six matches in the Premier League. 

The Scotland international’s first-team chances also looked slim at Arsenal in 2023-24, with manager Mikel Arteta preferring Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back. 

The Spanish boss didn’t feature Tierney in any of the Gunners’ first three league matches, and now he has joined Real Sociedad on loan. 

The 26-year-old will hope to reignite his career in Spain by playing regular football. 

Sociedad qualified for the Champions League after finishing fourth in the table last term. 

But their start to the new campaign has been far from impressive, with the Basque outfit yet to register a win from their first three La Liga games. 

They will hope for an improvement in their performances with the arrival of Tierney who boasts plenty of Premier League experience. 

He mainly plays as a left-back but can also be deployed as a central defender or a left midfielder.