Arsenal star one step away from signing exit 'agreement' as talks near conclusion

Arsenal are back in action on Saturday when they take on strugglers Wolves in the Premier League. The Gunners took care of business in the Champions League on Wednesday night, defeating Dinamo Zagreb convincingly at home.

Attention now turns back to the Premier League and attempting to make up ground on leaders Liverpool. In the meantime, the transfer window continues to rumble on, and it appears as though a deal has been struck.

For much of this month, left-back Kieran Tierney has been linked with an exit, with Scottish giants Celtic interested in taking him back to the club where it all began. Tierney was injured for much of the first half of the season after picking up a serious hamstring injury during Euro 2024.

But he returned over the festive period and formed part of Mikel Arteta’s plans, at least as a squad player. Arteta said when responding to the Celtic links in December: "At the moment he's here with us. I wouldn't play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed to us.Kieran Tierney made his first appearance of the season against Crystal Palace this week / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

"He's fully committed, he's enjoying things after a long period again with a really tough injury. Live the moment. He's a big part of the squad now. He deserves to be in the squad, he played really well the other day after such a long time. That's the only thing I can say."

Tierney is out of contract this summer, and it’s no secret that Arsenal were not planning to offer him a new deal. Celtic were tipped to offer the Scotland international a pre-contract, while there were also rumours that they could bring the deal forward by paying a fee in January.

But The Daily Telegraph now report that Tierney is on the verge of signing a pre-contract agreement, as initially reported, sealing a return to Celtic Park six years after his departure on a £25million deal. The move will certainly satisfy Celtic fans, a number of who have sung Tierney’s names at games recently.

The full-back won four league titles and four cups with Celtic during his first spell, while he has won an FA Cup and two Community Shields with Arsenal. In terms of the deal itself, it will suit Arsenal in that they will be able to keep Tierney around for depth between now and the end of the season, while they were already prepared to lose him for free at the end of the season.