£23m ‘workaholic’ sends clear transfer message to Aston Villa, Celtic and Newcastle United

Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney is yet to hold talks with head coach Mikel Arteta about his future, despite speculation linking him with Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

The 26-year-old had just 776 minutes of Premier League action last term as he played second fiddle to former Manchester City full-back and Ukraine international, Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Injuries haven’t been the cause of a lack of game time as Tierney has been raring to go for months, trying to prove himself as one of the hardest-working players at the Emirates.

Transfer links have been mounting as a result, with Villa and Newcastle the clubs mentioned most. Former club Celtic are also reportedly interested in a reunion.

But the player doesn’t have much of a say in what happens, regardless of the speculation.

Speaking about his future after the Gunners’ 2-0 pre-season defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, Tierney said: “It’s not really up to me.

“I’ve not had any discussions with the manager and I’m just working hard every day and trying to do as well as I can. I didn’t miss a single game because of injury last season.

“I was available for every match and always ready when called upon. I think everyone would agree that I never give less than 100 percent, whether I’m playing or not.

“You can’t play every single game every year and I don’t expect that. But I still made a lot of appearances last season coming off the bench, whether that was to see games out or help to get a goal, and I did all I could to help,” Tierney continued.

Although not saying anything outright about wanting to leave, it appears the Scotland international isn’t getting the minutes he believes he deserves for the effort he has put in.

Whether or not the workaholic defender will get a move awaits to be seen but Arsenal are unlikely to be willing to lose out on the £23.2 million fee paid to Celtic back in 2019.