The UEFA ruling that could affect Arsenal in the Champions League after £1.2m transfer

Ahead of Thursday’s Champions League draw, we take a look at a UEFA ruling that could affect Kieran Tierney who has joined Real Sociedad on loan from Arsenal

Kieran Tierney could be back at Arsenal sooner than expected if the Champions League draw unfolds in a certain way.

Having not been included by Mikel Arteta in any of the three Premier League matchday squads so far this season, the Scotland international has joined La Liga outfit Real Sociedad on loan in a deal that football.london understands has secured the Gunners a 1.2million windfall.

Set to compete with Diego Rico and Aihen Munoz for the left-back birth, the added bonus for Tierney is Champions League football will be available to him this season. A competition that has given the defender his toughest game to date, but one he’s not played in since leaving Celtic in the summer of 2019.

“He was so quick,” the 26-year-old said of Kylian Mbappe when speaking on Arsenal’s YouTube channel as he recalled being on the wrong end of a 7-1 loss at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain during the 2017/18 campaign. “It was the toughest game I’ve ever played in my career, against Mbappe and Dani Alves down that side.”

So as Tierney prepares to potentially make his Real Sociedad bow at home to Granada this Saturday afternoon, he may want to keep a close eye on how Thursday’s Champions League group stage draw, which takes place from 5pm at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, unfolds.

This is because the Spanish club are confirmed to be in either Pot 3 or Pot 4 and as a result can be paired with Arsenal (from Pot 2) – but only on the condition that the north London outfit do not draw either Barcelona or Sevilla from Pot 1 as UEFA rules state clubs cannot be drawn against teams from the same association.

Should this be the case then not so long after departing the Emirates Stadium – albeit temporarily – Tierney could line up against some familiar faces and close friends – as UEFA rules – unlike Premier League – allow players to face their parent clubs. So, unless Arsenal have inserted a clause in the loan contract that states otherwise, the Scot will be free to play in this scenario.

As a result, the Gunners are perhaps running the risk of being haunted by their own player in the Champions League. This has happened a number of times down the years with Philippe Coutinho scoring for Bayern Munich in an 8-2 thrashing of then-parent club Barcelona as the most recent example.

On the other hand, Joao Cancelo featured for Bayern Munich against Manchester City in the quarter-final last season and witnessed his parent club ease through 4-1 on aggregate en route to lifting the famous trophy for the first time as part of a historic treble and didn’t receive a winner’s medal either despite featuring in the group phase.

Real Sociedad’s Champions League pot will be confirmed at the conclusion of Tuesday and Wednesday night’s play-off round ties and if kept apart from Celtic – also to be in Pot 3 or 4 – then the draw could pit Tierney against not only his parent club but his boyhood club too.