Mikel Arteta says he’s not sure when Takehiro Tomiyasu will return from his injury problems, stressing the need to ensure that the Japan international doesn’t aggravate the problem by coming back too quickly.
The summer signing from Bologna was a mainstay in the side after his August arrival, but picked up a calf problem in December, and has only made two appearances in 2022.
Cedric Soares has desputised and done well at times, but the balance and physicality Tomiyasu brings to that right hand side is something we’re going to need between now and the end of the campaign.
Asked about him ahead of the Gunners’ showdown with Leicester today, Arteta explained, “He had an injury, he made a quick recovery, we played him … maybe too quickly, I don’t know.
“He had a recurring injury there and he felt it again one day when he was back in training.
It’s a disappointment because he’s been really consistent, he played a lot of minutes … quality minutes, and he made a good contribution to the team.
“Now he needs to be consistently training for a period so we can minimise the risk of having a recurring injury in the same muscle because that would be something to worry about.”
He did have praise for Cedric though, saying, “It’s good to have someone like him, when we had to use him he was ready because he’s a great professional, and he’s performing well for the team.”
Cedric deserves a bit more respect than he currently gets. Slotted in and kept our run going despite barely playing this season.
Reminds me a lot of the 98 season when our best players were injured and we had players like Christopher Wreh come in and do a job for the last 10 games or so. Nobody remembers that guy, but he played his part.
He’s done ok, to be fair, but he will get found out sooner rather than later. We clearly need to strengthen that position in the summer with a young understudy for Tomi (like Spence)….
In the meantime, good luck Cedric and COYG today !!!!
I don’t disagree but Cedric is going nowhere on good wages and 2/3 years left on his deal
You never know, Atletico Madrid might be interested if we do a mutual contact termination….
We also have Bellerin coming back this summer. It’s going to be difficult to sell them both.
I don’t see Hector coming back in the squad. He pushed for a move, even taking a paycut to leave to spain.
Woul’d be great if We could sell them both and reïnvest the money in a young talent.
we already have one in Brooke Norton- Cuffy
Nothing is nailed on mate.
Well said. 👍🍺
Found out how? He’s been playing in the Premier League for 7 years.
He’s a capable back-up and I don’t reckon it’s an area we will focus on in recruitment this summer.
Spence looks very good, but then so does our own Norton-Cuffy.
He’s been fine. Good even. But I think going forward next season we should be able to play Saliba as RCB and push White out there if needed. Then we should be covered sufficiently.
Just really hope this isn’t an ongoing trend for Tommi. Partey picked up injuries quickly in the Prem. Perhaps going from European leagues to the Prem takes its toll physically.
No.
We need to sign an out and out RB to cover for Tommy. He just needs to be young, hungry, eager to learn and more reliable than Cedric – that can’t be too much to ask, surely.
In the last few matches Cedric has been both consistent and reliable. We also have Norton-Cuffy waiting in the wings so I see no need to panic
Yeah, I reckon that Soares can do one more year as cover whilst Norton-Cuffy matures, there’s other areas more in need of attention next summer
I’m not panicking- I’m merely talking about his performances as a whole – not just the past few games.
But if you get a kick out of splitting hairs and playing Devils Advocate to whatever I write – then crack on mate.
It’s your problem, not mine.
It would also be difficult to find someone better who’d be happy to come, knowing he’d be expected to sit on the bench when Tomi’s fit.
There’s the aforementioned “young understudy” option, but that runs the risk of cockup through inexperience and also moves Norton-Cuff down the pecking order.
White hasn’t really done it for me at right-back. Albeit with limited minutes in that position.
It’s nice to know the option is there, but it would be foolish to go into a season with White as our #2 RB option.
Dunno.. Just because White can do a job at RB does not mean he should be 2nd choice for the position. Don’t think we will keep Bellerin when he returns from the loan. So will probably hold on to Cedric for a few more seasons.
It will be interesting to see how much we can get for Bellerin.
I would have thought somewhere between £10m and £15m.
I remember Christopher Wreh. Wouldn’t have won the league in 98 without him. Legend.
That transfer window in the summer of 1997 was very good.
Overmars and Petit the headline signings for the first XI, but then to pad out the squad there was Wreh, Manninger, Grimandi – signed for pittance – all contributed to the success that season.
*cough*
If given the god-like power to make a player injury free for the season, it would have been Tomiyasu for me first.
He is a player that makes me happy.
This is not a good sign.
Tommy needs to be brought back in only when he is ready – good to see that the manager is being cautious.
Speaking of caution, Cedric is second only to Xhaka for being seconds away from the next brain fart.
I’ll acknowledge that he’s doing a good job but his track record of defensive security is chequered to say the least.
Ultimately, we shall be requiring an upgrade, particularly if – and I use the word if – we have Champions League football next season.
I think Cedric is just one of those players that needed to string a few games together to get up to speed, some do, last season he had a run of games and was very good I thought, credit to him, keep it up
Yep. We’re not being completely fair to Cedric. He’s not our first choice RB, and we can’t ask much more from a backup player than what he’s been giving us in recent games. If he continues playing like he has, I’m totally fine. We can’t expect from him to do things he’s just not capable of. He will make mistakes, for sure, but that’s what often happens with backup players (and that’s why they’re backup players). We’re not in a position where we could have 2 world class players for ever position, and even if we got a different backup,… Read more »
Some people are just demanding a squad of 22 Tomiyasus.
Twenty Two Takehiro Tomiyasus Take ‘Teta’s Team To Tenth Titillating Title.
Harvey Barnes will be a tough matchup today. Would feel much more secure with Tomi there, but hoping Cedric with help from his mates can keep him under control.