It shouldn’t be understated just how much Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have achieved without some key players so far this season.
It doesn’t seem as if Declan Rice was signed as a straight up Thomas Partey replacement, but the transfer now looks incredibly important.
Partey has played just five games and 341 minutes for Arsenal across all competitions this season, he’s essentially missed the whole campaign.
Moreover, when you couple that loss with Jurrien Timber’s lengthy issue, Arsenal have missed two players envisioned for the starting eleven.
Injuries are part of any campaign for any club, but Arteta’s Arsenal side have been particularly unlucky in the last year or so with key issues.
And perhaps the absence of Takehiro Tomiyasu has been just as important.
The defender, who is just returning from the Asian Cup, has spent a lot of the last year or so absent with injury too.
However, with Oleksander Zinchenko now struggling with a calf issue, Tomiyasu’s return is incredibly timely.
And Standard Sport have now been detailing how Arteta plans to use the defender.
Mikel Arteta thinks Takehiro Tomiyasu can be key for Arsenal’s title bid
According to the report, Arteta considers Tomiyasu to be one of the best one-one-defenders at the club.
There was also zero interest on Arsenal’s end when Bayern Munich were keen to discuss a move for the Japan international in January.
Arteta sees Tomiyasu as a key player for Arsenal, and he’ll play a crucial role in the title race, be it at left-back or in any position across the defence.
Of course, it’s particularly interesting to see Tomiyasu’s one-on-one deafening highlighted, given it’s an obvious weakness in Zinchenko’s skill set.
The Ukrainian has often come unstuck in big away games when isolated with a top winger, Mohamed Salah more often than not.
And that explains why Arteta will be so relieved to have 25-year-old Tomiyasu back, Arsenal’s utility man.
That being said, Mikel Arteta has also been very impressed with another Arsenal player in training of late, and he’ll be sticking around.