Kieran Tierney trips Celtic transfer alarm as purring Declan Rice has Arsenal fans demanding Arteta plays trump card

Kieran Tierney is inching closer to a return to Celtic - but the Arsenal fans don't want to see him go after his latest cameo for the club.

The 27-year-old looks set to rubber-stamp a pre-contract agreement with his boyhood club to secure an exit from the Emirates after the Premier League heavyweights have opted against triggering a 12-month extension clause. The Scotland star returned to North London injured after picking up a knock at Euro 2024 off the back of a successful loan spell with Real Sociedad and has barely featured in Mikel Arteta's plans so far this season.

But amid a series of injury woes for the Gunners, Arteta has given Tierney minutes in the last two matches - and he impressed on Wednesday night as he was deployed on the unfamiliar left-wing position during the 2-1 derby victory over Tottenham. Following the game, the defender took to social media to post images from the game with a 'saluting' emoji.

That has led some Arsenal diehards to believe a fast-track move to Celtic Park is on the cards this month. One said: "Is this goodbye? He could be joining Celtic imminently." Another added: "He got to sign off with a North London derby win. Not bad."

Teammate Declan Rice talked up Tierney as he was thrown in out of position amid the mounting injury crisis, stating after seeing off Ange Postecoglou's side: "It's really tough for him. I'm sure the manager will look for something because we had to bring Tierney on in the left wing. We are a bit short there."

And that has sparked some punters to demand that Arteta reverses his decision to let Tierney's deal run down. One posted to X: "We should be stopping him leaving and giving him that new deal."

Another baffled punter added: "He creates a chance every