My Arsenal Blog

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Juventus have set their sights on Arsenal defender Tahekiro Tomiyasu. Despite some notable improvements in their performances and the rise in their prospects of securing a top-four finish in the Serie A, head coach Massimiliano Allegri is apparently keen to boost his defensive ranks further and Tomiyasu’s quality, both at Arsenal and in Japan’s shocking 2-1 triumph over Germany in their World Cup opener, has raised the eyebrows of the Italian tactician.

Juventus have no intention of making a move in the winter, probably aware that Arsenal’s involvement in the Premier League title race makes any mid-season deal practically impossible, so they’re preparing to have a go in the summer.  .......Read more here.....

As the Arsenal lineup for the clash against Liverpool last Sunday came out, it was all as expected apart from one thing – Kieran Tierney on the bench, with Tahekiro Tomiyasu on the left defensive flank.

Tomiyasu is, of course, a versatile defender but he usually plays either on the right or in the heart of defence. Had Kieran Tierney been injured, it would have probably been less strange, but the Scotland international was there, named among the substitutes.  .......Read more here.....

As his national team of Japan prepares to face the USA today (Friday) as part of their preparations for the upcoming World Cup, Tahekiro Tomiyasu spoke to the press and voiced his displeasure with not being a regular starter at Arsenal, and he made a vow to work harder in order to get his place in the starting XI under Mikel Arteta back.

The defender, set to turn 24 in just over a month, has mostly played as a centre-back throughout his career before joining the Gunners from Bologna last summer. In his first season at the Emirates, however, he had taken advantage of the uncertainties around Hector Bellerin and edged ahead of Cedric Soares in the pecking order for the position of right-back.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal are set to face Leicester City at the Emirates in a few hours, and there have been some positive developments at the Colney training ground this week. Fabio Vieira, Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe and Tahekiro Tomiyasu have all joined first-team training and some of them will be in contention to feature against the Foxes.

Speaking to the press on Friday, manager Mikel Arteta spoke at length about Vieira and his willingness to adapt to the demands of the game in the Premier League as soon as possible.  .......Read more here.....

Apart from Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale, who all played their part in England’s 10-goal thrashing of San Marino on Monday, five other Gunners represented their respective countries during this international break, so let’s take a brief look at how they fared.

Norway drew 0-0 at home against Latvia and lost 2-0 away to Netherlands, with Martin Odegaard playing the full 90 minutes on both occasions. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder will have been disappointed with what his team have done, finishing third in Group G behind Netherlands and Turkey. It means they won’t be playing at the World Cup next year.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal left the King Power Stadium with the three points in their pockets after fist-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes and Emile Smith Rowe led to a victory over Leicester City on Saturday. It was, for the large part of the match, Arsenal as they should be again – dominant, fluid, attacking, or to put it simply, the better team.  .......Read more here.....

Following the 3-1 triumph in the North London Derby, where Arsenal gave us a glimpse of the way manager Mikel Arteta wants his team to play, they put in another largely underwhelming performance against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex on Saturday and were lucky to get away with a clean sheet and a point for their efforts.

One of the better players out there was Tahekiro Tomiyasu, who has so far shown himself in a very positive light since his arrival from Bologna this summer. Arteta prefers to set the team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but he has been known to use the 3-4-3 as well, and with Hector Bellerin gone from the club, Tomiyasu was identified as a good option for the right side of defence in either system.  .......Read more here.....

It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen Arsenal show as much quality and spirit as they did in the North London Derby on Sunday, and it was certainly a welcome sight for sore eyes. Particular praise should go to Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, who grabbed a goal and an assist each.

There has been criticism directed at those responsible at the club, mostly manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu, about the best players in the team being the two boys practically just out of their teens. However, both Saka and Smith Rowe clearly showed on Saturday that they are ready to step up and deliver on big occasions. And as Arteta said before the game, they don’t come any bigger than Tottenham Hotspur coming to the Emirates Stadium.  .......Read more here.....

Speaking to the press ahead of Arsenal’s encounter with Norwich City on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta said he wasn’t looking for any excuses for the poor results of the first three Premier League rounds, but he is looking forward to having some players, previously absent, available for selection.

“Well, I’m really looking forward to having everybody available and trying to start the season the way we want,” Arteta said.

“We don’t want to use any excuses. We know how difficult the start was, with injuries, with a lot of COVID issues that we had, and with difficult games we had to play. We have to reset now, and hopefully get everybody back on track, and start winning football games, which is what we have to do.”  .......Read more here.....

The two transfers that were announced as imminent were completed late on Tuesday, the final day of the summer transfer window. Hector Bellerin has left the club to join Real Betis on loan, and Tahekiro Tomiyasu has arrived on a permanent deal from Bologna. Also, goalkeeper Alex Runarsson has joined Belgian side OH Leuven on loan.

The decade Bellerin spent at the Emirates has been marked by 239 first-team appearances, three FA Cup trophies and two Community Shields. There can be no doubt that the Spaniard gave all he had, even though his efforts were severely hampered by injuries. There is also a strange feeling that his time as an Arsenal player coincides with a period of the club gradually losing ground on their Premier League rivals, though that can hardly be put on his account.  .......Read more here.....