When Takehiro Tomiyasu arrived at Arsenal he was an instant hit. The right-back position at Arsenal had been an issue for some time, with none of Calum Chambers, Hector Bellerin or Ainsley Maitland-Niles being able to meet Mikel Arteta's requirements. In Tomiyasu, the Spaniard seemed to have finally found his man.
The Arsenal supporters took to him immediately too. By his debut against Norwich he had already earned himself a chant, and a goal-saving tackle from Heung-Min Son in his next Emirates Stadium appearance solidified him as an instant fan favourite. Over the next few months, the Japan international would hardly look back, establishing himself as one of the best one-vs-one and aerial defenders in the Premier League. Then the injuries came.
Having started every league game from his debut in September up until Boxing Day, Tomiyasu would go on to play just five more matches in the 2021/22 season. He continued to struggle with calf problems throughout the summer. By the time he was back though William Saliba's return had shifted Ben White to right back, and the Japan international would have to make do with a bit part role for the first time in his career, before a knee injury against Sporting CP ended his season in March. It's a period that he admits he found difficult.
"Yes, it was a difficult period for me," he says. "Ben White was doing very well and to be honest I lost confidence. But the injured period was four months and I thought about a lot of things at this time.
"You need to learn from the injuries, also the mistakes from the Manchester City game as well (where his error allowed Kevin De Bruyne to open the scoring in February's top-of-the-table clash at the Emirates). You have good and bad moments but you need to learn a lot of things from the bad moments. Now I am feeling good, not only for the body, but my head also like career, yeah, it’s all positive."
Despite his bad luck with injuries though, Tomiyasu remains firmly a part of Arteta's plans for the coming season. Part of the reason for this is his supreme versatility. Over the course of his two appearances in this pre-season tour of America alone, he has played right centre-back, left centre-back and left back, despite his natural position being at right back. Many players would find such constant change difficult, but for Tomiyasu it's not an issue.
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"For me, it’s the same thing," he says. "I just want to be on the pitch. I want to play as much as I can and help the team. Which position, I don’t care. I haven’t spoken to the manager about it, I don’t know. I just want to help the team."
That goal of being on the pitch as much as possible is set to become even more tricky this season though. In his preferred right back spot Tomiyasu now has to compete with new signing Jurrien Timber as well as White, while over at left back Oleksandr Zinchenko is Arteta's first choice, with Kieran Tierney and Jakub Kiwior also vying for minutes alongside him. Rather than fearing the competition though, the 24-year-old is relishing the challenge.
"The level in training is much higher than last season," he says. "This is good for the team and for me. If you want to be a better player you need to play with better players in a competitive environment.
"The only thing I can do is prove my value on the pitch. That’s all I can do."
Standards across Arsenal will have to improve as they return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years in September. For Tomiyasu though, his focus is on the here and now.
"I am so excited to play," he says. "But the only thing I can do, I just want to be on the pitch to help the team. So the first thing I need to do is prove my value in the training."
Man is in over his head