A surprise face was spotted at Arsenal’s training ground a day before their huge North London Derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners are desperate to return to winning ways after losing back-to-back games against Newcastle and Manchester United in the two domestic cups.
The derby against Spurs has come at the perfect time for the Gunners, and Mikel Arteta will be hoping that his side will get the job done.
On Tuesday, in what could potentially be a boost, one Arsenal player who has been out injured for a long time was spotted back at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Takehiro Tomiyasu spotted arriving at Arsenal’s training ground
Takehiro Tomiyasu has had a really difficult season at Arsenal.
The Japan international suffered a hamstring injury and missed the whole of pre-season. He didn’t play a part until October, when he came on as a substitute against Southampton.
Sadly for Tomiyasu, he suffered another injury despite playing just six minutes in that game. The defender has been out of action since and there has been no update about his return.
However, in what was a big surprise to many, Tomiyasu featured in Arsenal’s pre-North-London-Derby video on Tuesday.
The Gunners posted a montage of players arriving at the training ground, stepping onto the pitch and working hard ahead of the game.
It’s unclear if Tomiyasu, who has been hailed as ‘world-class’ (Goal), took part in first-team training, but he definitely was at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday ahead of the derby.
Tomiyasu has a big role to play because one Arsenal star could leave
Tomiyasu would’ve played a lot of minutes if he had been fit over the last few months.
Ben White has been out injured for over a couple of months now, and that has resulted in Jurrien Timber playing almost every minute at right-back. Tomiyasu would’ve been perfect in that role if he was available.
Now, Arsenal need Tomiyasu back fit again – not just at right-back but on the opposite side.
Arsenal are in talks to sell Oleksandr Zinchenko to Borussia Dortmund in the ongoing window. If the Ukraine international leaves, Arsenal will need more cover at left-back.
Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney are both injury-prone, while Myles Lewis-Skelly – although he has done really well – is still a young player.
Arsenal could do with Tomiyasu’s quality and experience in that role in the coming months.
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