Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has now been praising one of his teammates following today’s announcement of his contract renewal.
Following Ben White’s recent new contract as well, Arsenal have built on all of the excellent feeling fostered from the recent wins against Brentford and FC Porto.
Both Tomiyasu and White could easily be considered two of the most understated players at the club right now, defenders who fit Mikel Arteta’s flexible system so well.
Tomiyasu would have definitely liked to have been available more, a player plagued by injuries over the last few seasons.
But when he has been fit, Tomiyasu has shown so much tactical understanding in the variety of roles he’s been played in.
Despite Jakub Kiwior’s form on the left, and Oleksandr Zinchenko’s outstanding ability on the ball, perhaps the Japan international is still the most well rounded option at left-back, at least until Jurrien Timber gets fit.
That being said, Tomiyasu did find a bit of time to praise Arsenal teammate Martin Odegaard amid the clamour of his new deal being announced.
Takehiro Tomiyasu says he’d hate to play against Arsenal teammate Martin Odegaard
The defender was answering questions from Japanese fans and was asked who would be toughest to play against at Arsenal.
Tomiyasu didn’t really hesitate in naming his Arsenal captain Odegaard, a teammate he perhaps underestimated before playing alongside him.
He explained: “The player I’d most hate to play against would probably be Martin Odegaard, our captain.
“He’s very smart, he has very good football intelligence.
“His positioning to receive passes, his ability to create openings and his ability to score goals himself.
“I’ve come to realise how incredible he is since becoming his teammate, so I think he would be a very difficult opponent to come up against.”
Of course, it’s hard to argue with the merit of those words.
Martin Odegaard once looked like a ‘wonderkid’ never going to reach his potential despite all of his expectations.
But at Arsenal, and under Mikel Arteta’s stewardship, the captain is now in that ‘world class’ bracket.
And perhaps Tomiyasu will now hope he can reach a similar level of importance as his Arsenal teammate if he can steer clear of these repetitive injuries.
That being said, Ray Parlour has now been providing something of a throwback, praising a ‘brilliant’ midfielder Arsenal let go for free.
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