*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:02, 27 March 2024 (UTC)
Tierney came through the
Celtic youth system and made his first-team debut in April 2015, and his full international debut in March 2016. He joined Arsenal in August 2019 for a fee reported at £25 million, a
record amount both for a Scottish national and for a player from the Scottish league.
He progressed through the various youth ranks and earned a reputation as a dependable wide player in the club's
development squad, both in defence and attack.[10] He travelled with the first-team squad on a pre-season trip to Finland in August 2014, and made his debut in a friendly against
Tottenham Hotspur there. Although Celtic lost, Tierney described his first appearance for the first team as a "dream come true".[10] He continued to play in the development squad throughout 2014–15, and in October 2014 during a
Development League match against
Heart of Midlothian he scored a goal from the edge of his own penalty box.[11][12]
Celtic
2015–16: Debut and breakthrough
Tierney made his competitive senior debut for Celtic on 22 April 2015, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a
Scottish Premiership match against
Dundee.[13] He made one further first-team appearance that season, playing over an hour in a league match away at
St Johnstone.[14]
Tierney enjoyed a breakthrough season in
2015–16, appearing in over 30 matches and displacing the more experienced
Emilio Izaguirre as first-choice
left back.[15] For his performances he was awarded with both the
Players' and
Writers' Young Player annual awards,[16][17] while Celtic also won the league title. Despite interest from
Premier League clubs, Tierney signed a new five-year contract on 24 June 2016, keeping him at Parkhead until 2021.[18] After making his first appearances in the
group stage of the
UEFA Champions League, Tierney suffered ankle ligament damage during training on 27 October 2016 and was initially ruled out of action for two months.[19] During the layoff, which caused him to miss the
League Cup Final, he received treatment on a recurring shoulder injury and attended several Celtic matches as a typical supporter in the company of his childhood friends.[20]
2017–2019: Back-to-back domestic trebles
On 22 January 2017, after missing three months, he made his long-awaited return to the Celtic team in a
Scottish Cup tie against
Albion Rovers.[21] Tierney was crowned PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year for the second consecutive season on 7 May, making him the first to achieve this since
Craig Levein in 1986.[22] He suffered a jaw injury early in the
2017 Scottish Cup Final and had to be substituted for treatment.[23] Celtic won the match 2–1 to complete a
domestic treble and
undefeated season. In spite of his lengthy injury absence, he featured in 40 matches during the campaign.
On 8 August 2017, Tierney was named as
captain while also moving to
central defender to command a back line of teenagers in a
Scottish League Cup fixture against
Kilmarnock; Celtic won the game 5–0, with Tierney providing an
assist and scoring with a "wonderful strike" from 40 yards.[24] On 30 October, a week after scoring in an important
league victory away to closest challengers
Aberdeen, he extended his contract with Celtic until 2023.[25]
By the end of the season, he had collected further personal accolades—winning both the
Players' and
Writers' Young Player awards for the third campaign in succession—and performed a major role in securing a historic 'double treble' for the club, making more than 50 appearances and playing the entirety of the domestic cup finals, both being 2–0 wins over
Motherwell.[26][27] Tierney played in Celtic's victory over Aberdeen in the
2018 Scottish League Cup Final on 2 December 2018.[28] Soon afterwards a hip injury meant that he was ruled out of action, returning on 24 February 2019.[29] He then suffered from a hernia, which subsequently required surgery.[30]
Arsenal
2019–2023: FA Cup win and injuries
On 8 August 2019, Tierney signed for
Premier League club
Arsenal, for a reported £25 million fee.[31][32] Tierney missed the early part of the 2019–20 season, having undergone a double hernia operation in May 2019.[33] He made his first-team debut for Arsenal in a 5–0 win against
Nottingham Forest in the
EFL Cup on 24 September.[34] Tierney assisted the first goal in a 4–0 home win against
Standard Liège scored by
Gabriel Martinelli a week later.[35] He made his first appearance in the Premier League on 27 October, in a 2–2 draw with
Crystal Palace. His season was further disrupted after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the game against West Ham United.[36]
Tierney's impressive performances for Arsenal following the resumption of the Premier League after the
COVID-19 pandemic saw him receive Arsenal's Player of the Month award for June.[37] He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 26 July, in a 3–2 win against
Watford on the final day of the 2019–20 Premier League season.[38] On 1 August 2020, Tierney was selected to start in the
FA Cup Final against Chelsea, as Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup.[39]
On 28 August 2020, Tierney was in the starting 11 in the
2020 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal clinched a 5–4 victory over
Liverpool in the penalty shootout after the match was 1–1 after 90 minutes.[40] On 2 January 2021, Tierney scored the opening goal in a 4–0 away league win over
West Bromwich Albion and later assisted the final goal, scored by
Alexandre Lacazette.[41] His stunning strike was subsequently voted the January Goal of the Month on the Arsenal official website.[42] On 25 February, he scored a goal in a 3–2 win over
Benfica in the
Europa League round of 32, making him the first Scotsman to score for Arsenal in a European competition since
Willie Young in March 1980.[43] In June 2021, he signed a long-term contract with Arsenal.[44]
Tierney played regularly for Arsenal during the 2021–22 season until suffering a season-ending knee injury in March.[45] Arsenal lost league games against
Crystal Palace,
Brighton,
Tottenham and
Newcastle following his injury, and they narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification.[45] It was later revealed in the All or Nothing: Arsenal series that Tierney had hyper-extended the knee during a game in February, but aggravated it a month later while walking in the Arsenal training ground.[45] He returned to action at the start of the 2022–23 season.[45]
Arsenal signed
Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City during the summer of 2022, and during the 2022–23 season the Ukrainian played most Premier League minutes at left back ahead of Tierney.[46] This led to speculation that Tierney would look to leave Arsenal during the summer of 2023.[47]
2023–present: Loan to Real Sociedad
On 27 August 2023, Tierney joined
La Liga club
Real Sociedad on a season-long
loan.[48] He made his full debut in a 5–3 win over
Granada, for which he was labelled 'exquisite' by Real Sociedad boss
Imanol Alguacil.[49] He followed this up with an impressive performance against
Real Madrid on 17 September.[50] His season was interrupted by two hamstring injuries, sustained in September and January.[51]
International career
Tierney played for Scotland at
Scotland U18 and
Scotland U19 levels.[52] He had also considered playing for the
Ellan Vannin team that represents the Isle of Man when the
ConIFA World Cup competition was being held.[5]
Tierney received his first call-up to the senior
Scotland squad on 10 March 2016 for a friendly against
Denmark.[53] Tierney played for the first half of the match, which Scotland won 1–0 at
Hampden Park; he was replaced at the break by his Celtic teammate
Charlie Mulgrew.[54]
Tierney was selected as Scotland captain for a friendly match against
the Netherlands in November 2017, where he played as a central defender in a 1–0 defeat.[58]
In October 2018, Tierney scored a decisive
own goal in a 2–1 loss to
Israel in a
UEFA Nations League fixture.[59] Speaking after the game, Robertson said that both he and Tierney were being played out of position in the 3–5–2 system adopted by
Alex McLeish to accommodate both players.[60]
In November 2019, Tierney withdrew from the Scotland squad ahead of their
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Kazakhstan due to a hip injury.[61] In October 2020, he was required to pull out of the squad for a Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Israel after being in close contact with
Stuart Armstrong, who had tested positive for COVID-19.[62] It was later confirmed by Armstrong, Tierney and
Ryan Christie that they had been playing video games in the same room.[63]
Tierney provided three assists in a 4–0 win against the
Faroe Islands on 31 March 2021, despite playing from a central defensive position.[64] He then played in two of Scotland's matches at the delayed
UEFA Euro 2020 finals in June 2021, as he missed the opening match with
Czech Republic due to injury.[citation needed]
Tierney scored his first goal for Scotland on 24 March 2022, in a friendly against
Poland at Hampden.[65] Soon afterwards he suffered a training ground injury that kept him out of action for the rest of the 2021–22 season.[45] This caused him to miss a World Cup playoff against
Ukraine in June, which Scotland lost 3–1.[citation needed]
He grew up in Motherwell, Scotland where he attended Our Lady’s High School. He grew up a large Celtic fan, spending over 15 years at the club, from the age of 7.