Unai Emery wants Aston Villa to sign Arsenal star before deadline day - Reports
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is reported to be interested in a player from his former club, Arsenal. The Spaniard is eyeing left back Kieran Tierney to strengthen his defense.
Emery replaced Arsene Wenger in 2018 and spent one and a half years at the north London club. He led them to the Europa League final in his first season in charge, but a slow start in the second resulted in them parting ways.
According to CaughtOffside, Emery, who returned to England with Villa in 2022, wants Tierney as he aims to build a squad that can compete on four fronts. The Premier League side finished in the top four last term and will be playing in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The Arsenal full-back is deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates, having fallen behind in the pecking order since Oleksandr Zinchenko's signing in the 2022/23 season. The Gunners also have Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior in that position, which could mean an exit is on the cards for the Scotsman.
"I wanted to try something outside of England" - Arsenal full-back Tierney
The 27-year-old signed for the Premier League giants from his boyhood club Celtic in 2019 in a deal worth £25million. He won the FA Cup in his first season before lifting two Community Shields with the Gunners, but his last couple of years were marred with injury.
Having lost his place in the team due to injuries and the signing of Zinchenko, Tierney was loaned out to Real Sociedad for the 2023/24 season.
In an interview with The Athletic, Tierney spoke highly of his time at the La Liga club.
“It’s a totally different lifestyle, but I’ve enjoyed every second of it. It’s probably been the quickest year of my career,” Tierney said.
He touched upon the difficulties he has faced in the last two seasons, but he mentioned that it has been a learning curve for him.
"The last two years have been new to me, as it’s the first taste of not being first-choice. At Celtic, I played all the way. At Arsenal, I had played all the way until the last season and this year I’ve played most of the time when I’m fit but, unfortunately, I’ve had a couple of injuries," he said.
“It’s tough but I’m not complaining one bit. Very rarely do you go through your full career and everything goes nice and smoothly for you. It’s made me learn and made me stronger,” Tierney continued.
Tierney is back with Arsenal now but he is nursing an injury, which led him to missing the entire pre-season with the club.