Former Celtic defender Kieran Tierney has revealed that Brendan Rodgers instructed him to reject the opportunity to join Arsenal. The Irishman believed that he could take Tierney to the next level of his game if he stayed in Glasgow.
Rodgers arrived in May 2016, after Tierney had enjoyed a breakthrough season under Ronny Deila. The ex-Liverpool manager arrived with a reputation for developing young talent and one of the first discussions between the pair was a plea from Rodgers to remain at the club.
Speaking to Darrell Currie’s Currie Club podcast, Tierney revealed the conversation that went on amidst talk that Arsenal were keen on taking him to North London.
“I also remember the first conversation I had with him because there were rumours of me actually going to Arsenal that season as well. I think they had placed a bid.
“But he spoke to me and said, ‘We want you to stay here. We want you to play and get all these games under your belt, become a senior pro and not just a young player’.”
Tierney remained at Celtic until the summer of 2019, when he eventually switched Glasgow for London. The 25-year-old would be integral in the Treble Treble teams and, likely under Rodgers’ advice, realised that he had to test himself in the Premier League
The left-back made over 170 appearances for Celtic, winning five league titles and three League Cups and Scottish Cups during his time whilst enjoying hero status with supporters as being ‘one of us’. The former Celtic defender left the Scottish Champions in the summer of 2019 for a fee in the region of £25m, becoming the most expensive Scottish export.
