Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has raved about Takehiro Tomiyasu on the club’s official website.
Arteta has said that Tomiyasu is loving it at Arsenal, having joined the Gunners from Italian club Bologna on summer transfer deadline day.
The Arsenal manager has said that he is enjoying working with the 22-year-old, who can play as a central defender or as a right-back.
Arteta said about Tomiyasu: “He is so excited, you can see that for him it is a dream to be here and he is doing it in the right manner, with the passion but with the right commitment, and as well with the right amount of self assurance that he is capable of doing it.
“I’m very impressed, he has done it in a really natural way. It puts a smile on your face when you look at him, for how he communicates, how he is.
“It’s not been easy for him, we asked him to come in and play after two days against Norwich, then we went to Burnley, then the north London derby… a lot has happened and I am really happy with him.
“For me [the Premier League] is the hardest to adapt to, and the hardest to stay at the top. That is the challenge.
“Now he has shown he has the right qualities, the right mentality and personality to play for this club and in this country, and he has to maintain that and keep improving.”
Important player for Arsenal
Tomiyasu has made the right-back spot at Arsenal his own and is growing as a player already at the North London club.
The Japan international is very good defensively and has also looked good on the attack.
Now, of course, this is only the start of the season, and it will get tougher for Tomiyasu in the coming weeks and months when opposition teams start to work him out.
However, it is also very likely that Tomiyasu will continue to add facets to his game and will develop and progress even more.
The Arsenal no. 18 has played four times in the Premier League so far this season.
Arsenal fans should be optimistic and confident about the Japan international developing into a superb footballer under Arteta.
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