Morning all, welcome to a model new week.
It is extremely, very quiet from an Arsenal perspective. I see Germany supervisor Hansi Flick received, nicely, the flick, after dropping 4-1 to Japan. Clearly I don’t actually care about that in any respect, however I did see some Takehiro Tomiyasu compilations doing the rounds – there’s one right here on Reddit, for instance.
He’s a participant I’ve preferred since his arrival from Bologna, and it’s attention-grabbing (kinda) to notice, that as we bemoaned the unhappy damage to Jurrien Timber, we had already purchased a model of him beforehand. An completed defender who can play throughout the back-line, who provides high quality and flexibility. The sort of participant who offers you depth, however who’s actually adequate to be a starter.
In fact, so as to do this it’s a must to be obtainable, and in his two seasons with Arsenal, Tomi has had some damage points. In his first season he got here into the group and did rather well till round Christmas time, then missed a giant chunk with a calf damage. Maybe we introduced him again a bit too quickly, he limped his means via the top of the marketing campaign, however received match and performed 33 occasions earlier than the knee damage that ended his marketing campaign final season.
In that sense, whereas he has positively had accidents, I feel it’s a little bit of a stretch to say he’s damage inclined, per se. The knee drawback he sustained in opposition to Sporting was a little bit of a freak, he slipped, his knee went. It occurs. I feel he’s completely different from the sort of participant who sustains repetitive accidents in a single particular space. Hamstring, groin, ‘again’ and many others.
He spoke earlier this 12 months about how the absences from the group had made him lose confidence a bit, not least as a result of Ben White got here in was so efficient at right-back. He stated:
Sure, it was a tough interval for me. Ben White was doing very nicely and to be trustworthy I misplaced confidence. However the damage interval was 4 months and I take into consideration loads of issues on this time.
It’s essential to be taught from the accidents, additionally the errors. You might have good and unhealthy moments, however you’ll want to be taught loads of issues from the unhealthy moments. Now I’m feeling good, not just for my physique, my head additionally. It’s all optimistic.
His begin to the season clearly hasn’t been preferrred, however the purple card in opposition to Crystal Palace was ridiculously tender in my opinion. That meant he missed the sport in opposition to Fulham which required Mikel Arteta to select a distinct left-back for the third successive recreation. I think he would have began if he hadn’t been suspended, and hopefully a efficiency just like the one in opposition to Germany, and the aggressive minutes through the Interlull, will stand him in good stead when he returns.
The query is, how arduous can he push for normal begins now? All of us love Ben White; the Saliba/Gabriel partnership appears to be like a tough one to disrupt, though for the primary time Arteta has demonstrated the Brazilian isn’t untouchable; whereas the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko means he’s prone to begin on the left so long as he’s match (however he’s a participant who suits the damage inclined tag higher than Tomiyasu, to be honest).
The calls for of the Premier League and the Champions League imply the supervisor should change issues round. I might be improper, however Zinchenko doesn’t strike me as somebody who can play each three/4 days on a constant foundation, so I feel we would see a little bit of Tomiyasu there. Whether or not that’s in Europe or domestically may rely upon the opposition, and prefer it not there shall be absences for damage/suspension that he’s first in line to cowl for.
When requested about the place he’d want to play, he stated:
I simply wish to be on the pitch. I wish to play as a lot as I can and assist the group. Which place, I don’t care. I haven’t spoken to the supervisor about it, I don’t know. I simply wish to assist the group.
His means to play in each defensive place actually will increase his probabilities of taking part in, and whereas the damage to Timber is a giant blow, I feel Tomiyasu’s high quality is a little bit of a security internet. Let’s hope he can keep match, not simply to offer depth or cowl, however to essentially push these round him. Typically it’s arduous to see precisely the place a participant suits, however over the course of a season issues grow to be extra clear, and I’ve a sense we’ll see that with Tomiyasu as time goes by.
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Proper, let’s depart it there for now. James and I’ll have an Arsecast Additional for you a bit of in a while this morning. Maintain an eye fixed out for the decision for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or when you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
For now, have a superb one.
