Takehiro Tomiyasu (18)

Same here, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that him and Tierney are struggling so much. They’re more traditional fullbacks which Zinchenko and white absolutely aren’t.

I think people are slightly overreacting about him. Tomiyasu wasn’t responsible for our goals against Bournemouth and everyone knows he’s not as good as White offensively, we didn’t need this game to learn that, White btw who’s been the best RB in the league and even he himself had some poor games recently.

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It’s similar to Tierney imo. Needs match practice to keep the level up.

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I think his glaringly bad performance at Villa is what set off some alarm bells. Some would also argue his linkup with Saka in the Bournemouth game was also poor.

Villa? Didn’t Ben start that game?

Maybe I have my matches mixed up but I distinctly remember Tomiyasu making multiple blunders, one of which lead to a goal.

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That was City I think

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Like Tierney, whilst he’s a big drop off from first choice quality, we should only look to replace him if it gives us more money to spend elsewhere in the team.

More likely for Tierney than Tomi though

Watching in back I think I was too harsh on him.

It’s more that he can’t provide what White can from that position rather than being a liability.

The situation is really similar to the Xhaka and Tierney situations. They’re all being asked to do things that don’t come naturally or don’t play to their greatest strengths.

That is a big ask and it can really stretch someone to a point where they’re starting to overthink things like I think Tomiyasu was doing or hit a physical wall like Xhaka.

I’m not too worried if he starts if White is injured. He’s shown what he’s capable of and just need that crucial game time.

Great cameo today. He really needed this. They kept causing us issues on counters but as soon as he came on that left flank was shut. Almost got an assist and his game control was simply superb.

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Muscles made of sushi

Tbf, I’m out for a year if I do a split like him.

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With what’s left of the season and his history with injuries, reckon that’s the season done for him.

I like him a lot but I’ve given it to Tierney in the past so I think the club needs to review his situation in the summer.

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Psh. That’s brutal. He was so good for us last season and such a good defender but none of that matters if he keeps missing games.

I gave Partey a ton of shit for missing matches last season. Hopefully they can figure out why Tomiyasu keeps breaking down, but he’s sliding into that ESR zone for me of not being able to really rely on him. It’s not his fault but you can’t just assume he’s going to be fit.

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So who is our backup RB if White gets a knock?

Zinny? Holding? Reull Walters?

I think we go back three at that point, right? You can’t play Holding out there, he’ll be eaten alive.

Edit: I wonder if we’d do some weird shit like Gabriel at RB, Saliba and Holding in the middle with Zinchenko on the left.

Tbh, my expectation when Saliba came back was him doing Tomiyasu’s schtick at RB.
If shit hits the fan it’s still one of the solutions.

Unfortunately, none of the choices will provide the same dynamic that Tomiyasu or White provide.

If you want to on defending, you go with Saliba.
If you want to focus on attacking you perhaps go with Zinchenko(he’s gonna invert anyway) and you perhaps use Tierney or Kiwior on the other side.

The big brain flex though is Nelson. Personally, always thought that’s where he could work out because I don’t think he is good enough offensively to play at a high level. He does put the work and can track back well. Even today, it’s his defending that stood out.

Doubt that’s a risk Arteta will try though unless we’re chasing a game.

Partey can and has played at right back but he’s far too important to take out of midfield. You probably have to go Saliba right back and Holding CB, but think I’d rather just pray on White’s fitness. If White was out vs Cit or Liverpool, I’d rather go 5 at the back and play Nelson or Martinelli as wing back.

We should replace him with Sporting’s RB, Jeremiah St Juste, if even just for the name!

He looks a competent defender but with lots of pace and ability going forward