Arsenal sweating over Tomiyasu injury
Arsenal have been rocked by a huge injury doubt heading into their clash with Watford on Sunday afternoon.
The news came courtesy of Mikel Arteta who speaking in his pre-match press conference had a dose of good and bad news.
He first hinted that Emile Smith Rowe should be able to return after illness but sadly, Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu is still very much a doubt.
Arteta said in the build-up: “We are in the same place as last week, we still have a doubt over Tomiyasu but the rest I think are in a good place.”
The summer signing has been missing since mid-January when the full-back sustained an injury. He returned to the bench against Brentford but has been absent again due to a calf problem.
Tomiyasu has been one of Arsenal’s most impressive acquisitions over the last year and thus, Arteta will simply hate it if he is unavailable again on Sunday.
A rock at the back, the 23-year-old has caught everyone by surprise, ever since Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol seemed to dismiss his ability before he’d even taken to the pitch.
He said: “I’ve just got a message to say: ‘Tomiyasu was offered to most clubs in the Premier League. He’s a good player but the problem is he’s not really a right-back, nor is he a central defender. I’m not sure how he will get on at Arsenal’”.
Well, since that moment, he has been nothing short of a revelation in the red and white of the Gunners, becoming an instant fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium.
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No player to start more than two games in the top-flight for Arsenal this term has made more tackles per game (1.9) than Tomiyasu while he ranks second for interceptions a match (1.2) and tops the charts for aerials won per outing (2.7).
As a result, the idea of him missing yet another key fixture in the race for a top-four spot is likely to worry the club’s manager and indeed their fanbase.