Arsenal set to start truly ‘fantastic’ £16m talent today, Arteta absolutely loves him – He is ‘one of the most popular’ in the Arsenal dressing room now
Arsenal will hope to bounce back from their midweek Carabao Cup defeat and maintain their unbeaten Premier League run when they head to Newcastle on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners have been superb in the top flight this season, with seven wins and three draws under their belt as they look to challenge for the title again.
The Arsenal boss has sought to improve his strength in depth since taking the reins at the Emirates Stadium, and we’re seeing one of those benefits at the back.
Last season, Oleksandr Zinchenko was the main man at left-back, with Takehiro Tomiyasu having to make do as the back-up for the most part.
However, the Japan international will now fancy his chances of taking Zinchenko’s place at left-back for the trip to St James’ Park.
Tomiyasu ‘one of the most popular’ in the Arsenal dressing room
Tomiyasu was voted Arsenal’s Player of the Month for October thanks to his impressive outings, both from the start and off the bench.
For instance, the £16million man played a key role in Gabriel Martinelli scoring the winner against Manchester City, and helped Arsenal come from behind to secure a point against Chelsea.
Tomiyasu then scored his first Gunners goal in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United, and the celebrations from the bench said it all.
Asked about the 24-year-old after the game, Arteta said: “I love him. Everybody loves him. He’s one of the most popular in that dressing room.
“You can see the reaction of his teammates towards him because they want him there in the front to enjoy because he’s always very reserved and always doing things for the rest of the boys.
“A fantastic player for the team.”
Tomiyasu is in form and he’s a more defensive player than Zinchenko, so against a dangerous Newcastle side on their own patch, he’s a good shout for his second league start of the season on Saturday.
