'What a journey': Arsenal fans sent emotional message as summer exit confirmed
Kieran Tierney has bid an emotional farewell to Arsenal after rejoining Celtic.
The Scottish left-back is departing north London this summer after six years following the expiration of his contract, one of 20 players released by the Gunners across their men's, women's and youth teams.
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Tierney had long since been linked with a return to Celtic, where he previously spent 14 years, graduated from the academy and made 170 senior appearances before leaving for Arsenal in a £25million deal in 2019, winning eight domestic trophies in total.
That homecoming has now been officially announced, with the defender penning a five-year contract to head back to Glasgow and rejoin a dominant Brendan Rodgers side who almost won another domestic treble this season, only to be dramatically pipped to Scottish Cup glory by Aberdeen in extra time.
Tierney has now written a heartfelt goodbye to Arsenal after that move was confirmed, writing on social media: 'Full of emotions these last few weeks! To be part of this special club for 6 years has meant so much to me and I'm grateful for every single second of it.
'To every member of staff and team mate I've had the pleasure of working with, thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm so lucky to have worked with many amazing people who I learned so much from and helped me every day.
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'To the fans, what a journey these last 6 years have been. All I can really say is thank you for the support and love you've given me through the good and the bad times.
'I appreciated everything and never took any of it for granted. It's been fun. North London forever.'
Tierney was initially a mainstay at left-back after joining Arsenal, forming a key part of the side that lifted the FA Cup under Mikel Arteta in 2019/20, their last major trophy, as well as winning two Community Shields as he made 144 total appearances across all competitions.
However, he also struggled with injury and ended up slipping down the defensive pecking order under Arteta, who replaced him with Oleksandr Zinchenko as his new first-choice left-back in the summer of 2022.
Tierney, who earned his 50th international cap for Scotland last week, spent time out on loan in Spain with Real Sociedad last season, returning to Arsenal and being limited to just 20 outings this term, only four of which were starts.
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