Arsenal are set to face West Ham United in a tricky away tie today, and they are sweating over the fitness of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The left-back came off at half-time against Liverpool last week, with Jakub Kiwior replacing him, and Mikel Arteta refused to confirm if the defender was set to miss the trip to the London Stadium with injury.
However, Arsenal have now been handed a boost as Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned from the Asia Cup, and is available for selection. He missed several games prior to the tournament with injury, but having featured regularly for Japan, he is now back and match-fit.
The Athletic journalist Art De Roche has now claimed that he would like to see Tomiyasu start against West Ham, as he offers something different to Arsenal’s other fullback options.
Tomiyasu offers something different to Arsenal’s other fullbacks
Speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, De Roche highlighted Tomiyasu’s previous performances against West Ham to emphasise why he should be selected at left-back today.
“To be fair to Zinchenko, I thought he did very well defensively in the first half against Liverpool, but if he’s not fit you’d hope that Tomiyasu is available and ready, because he is just such a more natural defender, whether it is off the left or the right side,” he stated.
“I remember in his first season, in the game against West Ham at the London Stadium, he was ridiculous really, because the way he uses his body is quite different to the other fullbacks.
“He actually uses it to get in between man and ball, rather than backing off, so yeah I’d like to see him if he is fit and ready to start. He obviously played most of the games for Japan in the Asian Cup, but is hopefully back for us, which I think could be a real game changer going into the rest of the season.”
Tomiyasu should start against West Ham
Despite Kiwior’s strong performance in the second half against Liverpool, Tomiyasu should start against West Ham if he is ready to do so.
The likes of Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez pose serious danger in the air and from set pieces, and having someone as strong in the air as Tomiyasu at fullback would give Arsenal a defensive boost.
Mohammed Kudus has been in terrific form this season, and he gave Zinchenko a hard time when he faced him. Arteta considers Tomiyasu to be one of the best 1v1 defenders in the squad, and he could come in for this reason alone.
Despite his injury issues, Tomiyasu has been phenomenal at times this season, and having him back will be a huge boost ahead of a busy schedule.
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