Kieran Tierney had some nice things to say about Arsenal this week, hoping the Gunners win the league and thanking the fans for continuing to support him.

Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney is currently on loan with Real Sociedad, but the defender isn’t burning his bridges with his parent club.

Speaking to the media this week, Tierney insisted he’s not bitter about the decision for Oleksandr Zinchenko to replace him, and he thinks it could be enough to win the Gunners the league this season.

“There are no hard feelings or spite from me,” Tierney said. “I understand the decision of the manager to change me from No 1 to No 2. It’s football.

“It never happened in a personal way. It was tactical. He thought it was best to get Arsenal results — and he was 100 per cent correct, when you look at it.

“They were close to winning the league last year, and this year I think they’ll do it.”

As for the Arsenal fans, Tierney admits he’s pleased to see the supporters are still tracking his progress in Spain.

“The Arsenal fans are amazing,” Tierney added. “Whenever I post, or Sociedad post, there are still fans saying, ‘We wish you were here’.

“It makes me happy, as they could easily just forget about me because I’m not there anymore.”

Since winning the Community Shield with Arsenal in August, Tierney has played 22 times for Real Sociedad. He’s generally been a starter when fit, but he’s had a few injury problems holding him back.

First there was a hamstring injury in September, keeping him out until late November. Then there was another hamstring setback in January, ruling him out for another month.

Tierney has been out for the last couple of weeks with a groin problem, but he’s back in training now.

With any luck, the 26-year-old will end the season strongly to set himself up well for the European Championships this summer.