Kieran Tierney on verge of agreeing new five-year Arsenal deal
Arsenal are in advanced talks with Kieran Tierney over a new five-year deal and are hopeful of completing negotiations in the coming days.
Arsenal have been keen to reward Tierney for his superb performances since joining from Celtic in 2019 and the club believe they are now close to finalising a new contract.
Tierney has emerged as one of Arsenal’s most important players under Mikel Arteta and is regarded by many within the club as a potential future captain.
The 24-year-old is understood to have developed a strong relationship with Arteta and has impressed in a back three and a back four under the Spaniard’s management.
Tierney joined Arsenal for £25m in the summer of 2019 and went on to play a starring role in their FA Cup success later that season.
The length of Tierney’s contract offer is indicative of how highly the left-back is rated by the coaching staff and executives at the Emirates.
The move to tie Tierney to a new deal comes as Arsenal prepare to overhaul much of their first-team squad this summer.
They are keen on signing Brighton’s Ben White and Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, while Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves and Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale are also targets.
Among the players expected to leave are Granit Xhaka, who is close to joining Roma, and Matteo Guendouzi, who is wanted by Marseille. Konstantinos Mavropanos looks set to join Stuttgart in a move that could be worth around £7m.
Arsenal are also hopeful of convincing Emile Smith Rowe to sign a new contract, with negotiations ongoing amid interest from Aston Villa.
The Midlands club offered £25m for Smith Rowe, who was a breakthrough star for Arsenal last season, but Arsenal have no intention of selling a player who is seen as one of the brightest talents to have come out of their academy in years.
Analysis: Retaining Tierney one of the most significant moves the club could make
A busy period is expected at Arsenal this summer with plenty of comings and goings in the first-team squad, but tying Kieran Tierney to a new contract would undoubtedly be one of the most significant moves the club could make.
If Arsenal are to have any ambition of rebuilding under Mikel Arteta to return to the upper echelons of the Premier League, then they need characters like Tierney. Frankly, they have not had enough of those players over recent years.
Tierney stands out at Arsenal not only because of his footballing ability, which is clearly considerable, but because of his attitude. Schooled at Celtic, Tierney is a winner. Not just in matches, but in everything he does. When he first arrived at Arsenal, he ruffled some feathers with his aggressive approach to training — other players were not used to it, and they subsequently had to adjust and improve.
Tierney and Arteta have built a strong relationship, with the Scotland international emerging as one of his manager’s most trusted players. One only needs to see Arsenal’s performances without him to realise how much they have come to rely on his presence on the left flank.
In attack, Tierney provides width and vision. Last season he was one of Arsenal’s most creative players, supplying cross after cross. In defence, he is resilient and dogged. There are not many other overlapping left-backs who could also perform so efficiently as a central defender, as Tierney has done in some of his biggest games in an Arsenal shirt.
Tierney is one of the pillars upon which Arsenal hope to rebuild the club. The expectation among many in north London is that, ultimately, he might end up as captain. If this new deal can be finalised as expected, it would mark an encouraging start to a seismic summer.
