With Hector Bellerin strongly desiring to be part of the Arsenal exodus, Mikel Arteta felt it was necessary Arsenal went in search of an elite right-back replacement despite already possessing the likes of Cedric and Ainsley Maitland-Niles to choose from.
The Arsenal boss personally pushed the hardest for the club to recruit Takehiro Tomiyasu, and in the end they got their man on transfer deadline day. Tomiyasu, 22, who can play at either centre-back or right-back, signed for £16m on a four-year deal.
When Arsenal’s recruitment staff submitted their list of targets for the summer window, 22-year-old Bologna defender Tomiyasu was amongst that list.
For the right-back spot, Arsenal targeted a specific profile, one who won’t bomb forward like a Kieran Tierney on the opposite flank but can tuck into the central areas in possession, enabling the team to build up within a back-three while Tierney stood high-and-wide on the left-flank, if so desired.
Arsenal were also in need of a player who could provide adequate cover and combine with new £50million pound man Ben White on the right side of defence. Tomiyasu is seen by Arteta as the kind of “hybrid” player he needs. The Japanese international has predominantly played at right-back and centre-back and has also occasionally filled in at right wing-back for Bologna.
Bologna’s asymmetrical system and philosophy is similar to Arsenal’s in that the team defends in a back-four, but when in possession, the system shifts to a three-man back-line.
Standing at 6ft 2in, Tomiyasu is incredibly adept in possession but also possesses the height, build and physical presence that Arsenal desperately need in their back-line. So far this campaign, Arsenal have been bullied and imposed on by all three of their opponents because of their lack of dominant figures within their defence. Tomiyasu provides that characteristic first and foremost.
The versatile defender is also relatively two-footed, meaning that if he is pressed as is regularly the case in the Premier League, he is more than capable of evading it, progressing the ball with his left-foot.
In fact, his stats in possession is very promising. He is fairly accurate in both his short and long passes recording a success rate of 90% and 68% respectively. Tomiyasu is a fine ball-progressor without being too extravagant or out of the ordinary, he performs his role in possession very professionally and astutely, averaging 4.17 progressive passes per 90.
As befitting of a player who is capable playing both at full-back or as a central defender, one of Tomiyasu’s strengths lies in his ability and willingness to drive forward with the ball at his feet. As stated previously, his positioning as a central defender almost exclusively as part of a back three, Bologna often have numerical superiority in their build-up play.
This means that as Tomiyasu receives the ball in these areas he often has the space and time to receive and to drive forward in possession. While he is more than capable of playing line-breaking progressive passes into the middle third of the pitch, he can also carry the ball forward aggressively and confidently in order to drive his team up the pitch.
Last season, the Japanese defender averaged 4.14 progressive carries and 1.23 carries into the final-third highlighting his incredible bravery, willingness to take the responsibility of his team’s ball progression on himself.
Possessing central defenders who are confident in possession of the ball as they build attacks is an extremely effective and prominent method of ball progression. Tomiyasu’s courage in performing such moves will certainly aid Arsenal’s building of attacks significantly. While they gain ground towards the opposition goal, they force the opposing defence to divert from their midfield block and engage the ball which then creates an opportunity for the ball to be played into pockets of space where players like Emile Smith-Rowe or Martin Odegaard tend to thrive in as they look to disrupt the opposition defensive structure.
Across the 2020/21 campaign, Tomiyasu averaged 6.88 passes into the final third per90. He possesses the unique ability to perform line-breaking passes that accesses the more forward-thinking players directly in front of him. The 22-years is also intelligent enough to realise that performing such a pass may not always work so he progresses the ball on the outside with a first or second-line pass to open up proceedings.
As good as he is on the ball, his ability to defend spaces and engage his opponents is just as effective. Arsenal significantly require a defender who is so combative and adept at defending 1v1 and the spaces in behind the defence. During the 2020/21, Tomiyasu averaged 3.11 tackles + interceptions, 1.95 blocks and 4.80 clearances per 90 highlighting his intelligence and dominance when engaging opposition attacking moves.
Tomiyasu is a defender who relies on his pace, athleticism and imposing figure to shepherd attackers out of possession or sweep balls in front of his back-line. He is very intelligent and displays very good levels of anticipation and concentration when defending, especially against wingers with quick feet and swift changes of pace.
Tomiyasu will be faced with a lot these attackers in the Premier League, but its a task that he is perfectly capable in overcoming, arguably better at it than anyone in Arsenal’s back-line. He rarely switches off or makes an obvious positional error but he also holds the ability to quickly re-position his hips to switch defensive stances, and stand up against his opponents covering all areas of the pitch in the defensive third.
Through his positional versatility, Tomiyasu is capable of defending when pulled out and isolated wide or when the ball is played over the top and he has to recover space and defend towards his own goal.
When defending the spaces in front of his defensive line, Tomiyasu typically impresses. He is more comfortable as the free defender than defending with a striker pressed up against him but his ability to anticipate opposition movements and read attacking moves means that he is quick in plugging an potential gaps that may arise in his team’s defensive line.
He is superb in his all-round defending whether within a defensive unit, keeping the defensive line, remaining intact and solid or when faced up with situations that he has to deal with himself. Tomiyasu is imposing, flexible, strong, very agile but also very adept and effective aerially. Last season, he won 64.6% of his aerial duels, 3.51 per 90 minutes marking him out as the seventh best in the air in Serie A in winning (106) duels. He is just what Arsenal need aerially when defending set-pieces especially as shown through Manchester City’s first goal headed in by one of the shortest players on the pitch in Ilkay Gundogan in their 5-0 rout. Tomiyasu is perfectly capable to address those weaknesses aerially shown through Callum Chambers and Rob Holding’s poor defending.
Tomiyasu sitting alongside the likes of Ben White, Gabriel and Tierney in a back-four come back-three when building from the back already sounds like an exciting prospect for Arsenal fans and may just be Mikel Arteta’s intended defensive lineup for the foreseeable future.
As Tomiyasu’s career in Europe has blossomed, so has his standing at international level. The 22-yeard-old defender has already represented Japan at every level from the under-13s right through to the senior side, now sitting at 23 caps and is vastly becoming a valued member and a key outlet for Japan’s defence.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has swiftly morphed into one of the most modern defenders currently playing in Europe’s top five leagues. His athleticism, mobility, physical presence, tactical awareness combined with his willingness and courage to join the attacking phase in possession of the ball makes him a very telling contributor.
It’s no surprise that Tomiyasu has outgrown Bologna and is now ready to perform at the top-level in the Barclays Premier League for Arsenal, considerably making them a much better defensive outfit too. Do not be surprised to see the Japanese defender somehow make the team of the season come May, he’s that good as well as consistent and reliable. Remember, Mikel Arteta personally pushed for this move so Tomiyasu already looks every bit a very smart buy tasked in improving Arsenal’s fortunes this season.
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