One Arsenal star emerged as the solution to a long-standing problem that has been troubling Mikel Arteta as his side beat Bournemouth.
Arsenal kept the pressure on Manchester City in the Premier League title race with a 3-0 win against Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners were particularly impressive in the first half, as they utterly dominated possession and territory against the Cherries. Mikel Arteta’s side carved out a number of goalscoring opportunities, and were it not for wayward finishing and some determined last-ditch defending from the visitors, then the North London club would surely have racked up an unassailable lead before the break.
Arteta will have been particularly pleased to see his team building attacks up both sides of the pitch.
How Takehiro Tomiyasu provided solution to Arsenal problem v Bournemouth
All too often this season, the Gunners’ build up play has been confined to the right flank, where Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Ben White all operate on the same wavelength. However, this means that Arsenal can be predictable when coming forward.
With Takehiro Tomiyasu now back to full fitness and playing at left-back, though, Arteta’s side can get more bodies forward in that part of the pitch.
Tomiyasu has been described as the best one-on-one defender in the Arsenal squad, but he showed against Bournemouth that he has plenty to offer in the final third as well.
As the Japanese international roamed forward, he was able to link play and create space for the likes of Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice to exploit on the left. Both Rice and Trossard were able to get on scoresheet against Bournemouth.
The data shows that the £20 million former Bologna man was hugely impressive in his attacking play. As per WhoScored stats, Tomiyasu played two key passes, and won six aerial duels.
He was a threat in the opposition box when crosses were delivered in, and also worked hard throughout the match to provide overlapping runs out wide.
What Arsenal need from Takehiro Tomiyasu now
Injuries have meant that Tomiyasu has not featured regularly for Arsenal this season. In his place, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior have both had runs in the team. However, Zinchenko is considered a defensive liability, whilst Kiwior lacks attacking impetus which has contributed to the Gunners’ left-side problem.
Tomiyasu has all the attributes Arsenal need from a player in that position. The challenge for the £100,000-a-week 25-year-old now is to prove that he can overcome his recurrent fitness issues and show that he can be relied upon to impress on a regular basis.