Departing Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney would have been able to offer something to Mikel Arteta next season, but it would have been too difficult trying to convince the Scotsman to stay, Charles Watts believes.
The 27-year-old marked his final Gunners appearance with the opening goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Southampton, his last contribution before he returns to Celtic on a free transfer this summer.
Celtic confirmed in their January financial accounts that an agreement had been reached to re-sign their former academy graduate, who is one of the last few survivors of the Unai Emery era at Arsenal.
Tierney unexpectedly forced his way back into Arteta's ranks this season after a loan at Real Sociedad and serious hamstring injury at Euro 2024, but when asked by Sports Mole whether there was the argument to keep him, Watts insisted that his Emirates chapter was closed.
"He could have offered something, but he wants to be playing all the time," Watts said. "Look at his age, the quality of the player. that would be a very tough sell for Kieran Tierney. We'll give you an extension, but you're going to sit on the bench most of the time. It was never going to happen.
"The good thing with Kieran is he had this extra year. He was going to go last summer - had it not been for that injury, he would have gone. He wouldn't have got his Arsenal goodbye because he would have been at Sociedad and then would have just gone.
'Tierney contract renewal was never going to happen'
"But he's had this six-month goodbye now where he got back from the injury, got himself back into the first team picture, played minutes, got his goal. We've had an extra year of Kieran that gave us all and him an opportunity to say goodbye to the club and the fans and vice versa as well. It was a really nice moment and send-off for him."
Tierney ended his final Arsenal campaign with a solitary goal from 20 appearances, getting across his man to break the deadlock at St Mary's from Ben White's cross, which triggered an outpouring of emotion from the 27-year-old.
The defender had only ever scored five times in his previous 143 Arsenal matches - as well as laying on 14 assists - but there was no more popular scorer among Gunners players and fans than Tierney.
The Scotland international immediately endeared himself to the Emirates faithful upon his arrival in 2019, but injuries soon began to take their toll, and he missed a total of 94 matches for club and country during his time at Arsenal - including games sat out for Real Sociedad.
Nevertheless, Tierney's humble attitude, unwavering dedication and bombarding runs down the left flank made him a fan favourite right away, and Watts was keen to reflect on the positives of his Arsenal journey rather than the setbacks.
"He's had six years at the club," Watts added. "He's had some really good times, won a trophy, he's hugely popular. It hasn't quite worked out how we probably thought it was going to. Lots of people thought, myself included, that he had a good shot of potentially being future Arsenal captain. But the injuries just really, really took their toll.
'Tierney was a beacon of light at Arsenal'
© Imago
"The amount of time he was not available, the side just moved on. The direction of the team, how they played, what Mikel Arteta wanted from his left back. I think there's some regrets in terms of 'we didn't probably get as much out of Kieran as we could have done' but we still really enjoyed him.
"When he first arrived, the end of Emery, the start of Mikel, he was a beacon of light. The way he played, the dross that we'd had in defence at times. Then suddenly we had this real fighter, this guy who felt like one of us. A throwback, old school warrior. The fight, the intent, the way he bombed forward.
"That's why everyone grew so attached to him and the way he played. He was such an integral part of the start of the whole transformation under Arteta, and I don't think any of us will ever forget that. That's why he's so popular.
"The goal was such a great moment. You could see on his face what it meant to him. To run off and celebrate with the away fans, it was really, really special. So rather than focusing on what might've been, I focused more on what it was. And it was a really fun ride having Kieran here. As Mikel said, the doors are always open."
Tierney took home one FA Cup medal and two Community Shields during his Arsenal career, and he could be one of two Gunners left-backs on the move this summer, as the out-of-favour Oleksandr Zinchenko could also be tempted by a transfer elsewhere in search of more minutes.
However, in Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal are well-covered on the left-hand side of defence for 2025-26.
Ben Knapton
