Mikel Arteta told ex-star who made first league start in 667 days really fits ‘modern Arsenal’

Takehiro Tomiyasu has been told that injuries are the only reason he’s currently playing in the Eredivisie and not at ‘modern Arsenal’.

The 27-year-old hugely impressed on his first league start in almost two years to help Ajax smash Sparta Rotterdam 4-0 on Saturday.

Getty

The Japan international hasn’t started a top-flight match since scoring in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Everton on May 19, 2024.

A string of devastating knee injuries meant Tomiyasu then played just six minutes of football under Mikel Arteta during the 2024/25 campaign.

His contract at the Emirates was subsequently terminated last July, with the versatile defender still facing months on the sidelines.

Tomiyasu was handed a lifeline by Ajax in December after signing a short-term deal until the end of the season.

Tomiyasu completes injury return

Ironically, an injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the door for his fellow Arsenal alumnus to start his first league game in 667 days.

And European football expert, Andy Brassell, revealed that Tomiyasu more than seized his opportunity to impress at left-back.

“He was great,” Brassell exclusively told talkSPORT.com. “And I think there’s such enthusiasm for Tomiyasu, because you’ve got a player who, because of his injury issues, a player of that quality, who’s still in his mid-to-late 20s, 27, he’s not old, shouldn’t really be in the Eredivisie at the moment.

“The only reason he’s ended up there is because of his fitness issues.

“He played at left-back against Sparta, and even though he’s feeling his way back, he showed his class, I think, with and without the ball.”

Tomiyasu fits ‘modern Arsenal’ without injuries

Tomiyasu joined Arsenal in a cut-price deal from Serie A side Bologna in a deal rising to £20million in 2021.

However, despite his popularity with Arteta and fans, injury issues restricted him to just 79 appearances in four seasons.

Like Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and Piero Hincapié, Tomiyasu is capable of playing in central defence as well as full-back.

Brassell added: “Defensively, he’s really switched on, he’s athletic, he’s someone who’s quite tall for a full-back.

“Funnily enough, if he were fully fit, he’d really fit modern Arsenal, which I think is quite interesting.

Getty

“Six foot two for a full-back, especially a right-footed left-back, which is what he’s playing as yesterday, and yet there were moments when he looked a bit like prime Joao Cancelo, really.

“Someone who’s really enterprising with the ball, who can add to the attack.

“He was involved in the second goal as well, when he made a burst down the left-hand side.

“He reads the game so well, so he reads it like a centre-back, but he’s got the athleticism and the movement of a full-back.

“He’s good, and he’s careful on the ball. And because he reads the game so well, he doesn’t actually have to make tackles that much.

“So obviously, this is just a small sample size, and this is just one game, but there’s an enormous amount of enthusiasm for his performance because he is raising the level of that Ajax side, which is, it’s fair to say, not one of the great Ajax sides in recent years, just by being there.

“The interesting thing is that if Zinchenko hadn’t got injured, Tomiyasu might have been playing, but he definitely wouldn’t have been playing left-back. So it’ll be interesting to see if he grows into that position or if they move him over to the right.

“Of course, the really appealing thing about him when he’s fully fit is that he’s great on the ball, reads the game brilliantly, quite physical, and he can play anywhere in the back four.”