Football writer Charles Watts has said that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta must learn his lesson and not rush Takehiro Tomiyasu back from injury.
Today, the Gunners face a difficult match in the Premier League as title-chasers Liverpool pay a visit to the Emirates. With Arteta and co pushing for a top-four finish, they will be just as keen to get the win as their opponents.
With that in mind, there has been much speculation about whether or not right-back Tomiyasi should be put straight in the team. Speaking about the player, the club’s manager said: “Tomi is the only one that’s still there in contention [to miss the game]”.
“We have been trying to push him, but with the handbrake a little bit because we need to be careful as we don’t want to get another injury with him. We don’t know [if tomorrow is too soon]. Let’s see how he trains today.”
Should Arsenal rush Takehiro Tomiyasu back to play against Liverpool?
Yes
No
Weighing in on the debate, Watts claimed that even if Tomiyasu is fit, Arsenal should not play him. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said (01:31): “I mean, there’s just no way he’s gonna play tomorrow, surely. Even if he trains well and today and he gets through it unscathed, you’ve got to learn your lesson, don’t you?
“From what happened last time when he kind of rushed Tomiyasu back – against Liverpool coincidentally enough in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg – and he injured himself again.
“He was clearly not fit in that game. Anyway, had his worst performance in an Arsenal shirt, he was clearly not fit and ended up getting injured again, has been out ever since.”
TIF thoughts on Takehiro Tomiyasu and Arsenal…
The incident to which Watts is referring to was that Carabao Cup game where Arsenal lost 2-0 to the Reds and Tomiyasu came back into the team despite having some fitness issues.
He has not played a game since then, and has in fact only played in the Premier League just once in the entirety of 2022 so far.
In his place, Cedric Soares has had to step up and the defender has actually played pretty well of late, earning some praise from parts of the media.
While Arteta will want to play the best team possible vs Liverpool, he may have to learn from the past and give Tomiyasu just a little more time to return to fitness this time around.
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