According to Sky Sports News, Arsenal are on the verge of signing Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna is a deal worth £19.8m.

With the same report suggesting Hector Bellerin is heading back to Spain to join Real Betis, it seems extremely likely that the Japanese international will arrive at the Emirates to challenge for the right-back spot.

That being said Takehiro is a versatile defender and he can also play as a centre-back and as a left sided fullback if needed. Last term he played in all three positions for I Rossoblu.

I think Tomiyasu has all the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.

At twenty-two years of age, he represents a good age to develop under Gunners coach Mikel Arteta. Even though he is still a youngster, the Japanese star is already pretty experienced for his age. He’s already played in over sixty Serie A games and represented his national team twenty-three times.

Tomiyasu isn’t a defender who’ll just rush in for the sake of it. He will judge a situation intelligently before stepping in and taking charge of a situation. He has often proved that he possesses high concentration levels and in-game intelligence.

Last season; Takehiro made 1.5 tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions and a whopping 3.3 clearances. He’s a player that sticks to his task, who will cover for a teammates mistake and try and get himself in between shots and his goal (Stats from Whoscored).

That sort of commitment will endear the defender to the Arsenal crowd, much like fellow fullback Kieran Tierney has.

The defensive star only picked up three yellow cards last year, again showing he’s smart when timing his challenges. He’s also terrific in the air, last season on average he was winning around 3 headers per league game in Italy. Against Manchester City, Arsenal were vulnerable in the air and having a taller right-back will give them a better chance to deal with crosses into their own penalty area.

The Japanese international has previously stated that he has learned a lot on how to defend under Bologna boss Siniša Mihajlović:

“He has given me a lot of advice on how to move my arms, but above all, Mihailovic insists on defending the area,” 

Via Eminetra.co.nz

Takehiro is also very accomplished with the ball at his feet. Again he’s a defender that doesn’t seem to get easily flustered, in or out of possession, which is a plus given some of the poor defending we’ve seen from the Gunners this term. His passing success rate of above 80% will be another plus point for Arteta.

He can read the game well with his interceptions and then take it out of a dangerous position with his unique dribbling technique. He’s pretty nifty and an awkward player of his size and that can see him beat opponents too. He’s got quite the engine on him and he will always show a willingness to push forward and get back.

Tomiyasu is a player that has shown in Italy that he can perform consistently throughout a campaign. Again something the Gunners defence has lacked in recent seasons.

I think that Takehiro Tomiyasu will fit the Premier League style and should flourish at Arsenal given half a chance. He’d be a player that I’d expect to see improve rapidly in London if they can secure his signature. But he won’t fix all their problems, the Gunners defence will still have to improve as a unit or they will still crumble in pressured situations.

Posted on August 31st, 2021 by scott
Filed under: Article