Arsenal could turn to Newcastle United target in U-turn to fix defensive woes against West Ham and Fulham

Out-of-sorts Arsenal could recall left-back Kieran Tierney from his loan spell with Spanish outfit Real Sociedad as they sweat the fitness of Oleksandr Zinchencko and look to bounce back from a not-so-merry run of results over the festive period.

Tierney was the centre of much transfer speculation this summer with Newcastle United hotly tipped to be pursuing the Scotland international. The Magpies were in the market for a full-back but ended up striking deals for Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall rather than the Gunners' experienced defender.

The 26-year-old has been struggling with a hamstring in La Liga this season but has made eight appearances for Real Sociedad, including five starts in the side's last five league games. Tierney's return to fitness could come at an ideal moment for his parent club, with Zinchenko struggling with a 'slight calf issue'.

The Ukraine international missed the 2-1 defeat to Fulham on New Year's Eve and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is yet to reveal how long a spell on the sidelines the star is set to endure. Jakub Kiwior started in place of Zinchenko at Fulham but clearly didn't impress Arteta too much as he was subbed at half-time for Takehiro Tomiyasu in a shaky Gunners' defensive showing.

The Express reports that Arsenal are looking at recalling Tierney to help reignite their title push, although whether such a clause does exist in the player's Real Sociedad deal remains to be seen. The defender signed a five-year contract deal with Arsenal in 2021.

It is reported that Tierney's experience and leadership credentials are particularly attractive aspects in a potential recall with the Arsenal defence looking short of organisation against Fulham and West Ham last week. The player has made a huge 124 appearances for Arsenal and received 39 international caps.

Before heading to Spain this summer, Tierney had expressed his respect for Arsenal, which led to many believing he would fight for his place in the starting XI this term. The player told The Athletic: "It's not really up to me (my future)/ I'm happy, I'm working hard every day and getting minutes. I'm just trying to do as well as I can.

"You can't play every single game, every single season, every single year. I don't expect that and I still made a lot of appearances last year. I was ready for every game and working 100 per cent. I think everyone in there would agree with that, that I never give less than that whether I'm playing or not.

"In the games I did play I tried to do my best for the team. I came off the bench a lot last season, whether that was to see games out or help get a goal."