Pretty much every Celtic fan has heard about the Kieran Tierney return rumours already. The Scottish left-back is not a major part of Mikel Arteta's plans at Arsenal. He spent the previous season out on loan at Real Sociedad. And it has been claimed that the London club have decided not to take up the option of extending his current deal by a further 12 months, meaning his contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign.
There have been suggestions that Celtic are considering a move for Tierney in January itself. But where does he stand in Arteta's plans at the moment?
Well, interestingly, Tierney made his first appearance of the season recently. He played in the win against Crystal Palace in the League Cup.
And while it is widely believed that Tierney is on the verge of leaving Arsenal, whether it be this winter or in the summer, it looks like he has not asked Arteta to leave yet. As reported by the Daily Record, the manager said while speaking via Football London:
"At the moment he is here with us. I wouldn't play a player who is thinking of leaving. He’s a big part of the squad now. He hasn’t come to me and said I want to move. In the past he has done but it hasn’t been the case yet."
Celtic fans won't like Mikel Arteta's recent claim
It remains to be seen how things play out for Tierney at Arsenal. To be honest, it is a bit surprising that he has not asked Arteta about wanting to leave yet.
One has to wonder whether Tierney is considering seeing out the rest of his contract and then weighing up what kind of opportunities he has as a free agent in the summer. That might make sense for Celtic as well as they would not have to pay a transfer fee.
It has also been claimed by some in the media that Tierney is willing to take a paycut in order to make a return to Celtic possibly. And the possibility of him returning might very well be one of the reasons why Greg Taylor has not been offered an extension, despite being the starting left-back for the club for years now.