Arsenal have now been rocked by yet another injury blow.
Mikel Arteta has already had to deal with numerous injuries afflicting his Arsenal squad this season.
Arteta has lost sleep over the Arsenal injury crisis, and remains without club captain Martin Odegaard, who sustained a problem in the last international break.
The current international interlude has brought new problems down upon the North London club. Kai Havertz remained at Arsenal due to a knee issue.
On top of that, Bukayo Saka picked up a knock with England, and Gabriel Martinelli is now unfit to train with the Brazil squad.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s condition has now added to Arteta’s woes.
Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu facing another layoff
Having been beset with fitness issues so far this season, Tomiyasu made his first appearance of the campaign for the Gunners as a late substitute against Southampton just prior to the international break.
It now seems, though, that that will be the Japanese defender’s last involvement for some time. He did not travel to represent his country in their fixtures against Saudi Arabia and Australia.
According to TeamTalk, Tomiyasu looks to have picked up yet another knock in his brief cameo against the Saints, and could now be facing another spell on the treatment table.
As per the aforementioned report: “Arsenal are seriously concerned Tomiyasu suffered a recurrence of his knee problem in his short appearance against Southampton and he could now be out of action for another month.”
Mikel Arteta must change Tomiyasu transfer stance
Arsenal have no plans to sell Tomiyasu in the upcoming January transfer window as things stands, despite the likes of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, William Saliba, and Gabriel Magalhaes, and perhaps even both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior, being ahead of him in the pecking order across the multitude of defensive positions he can adopt.
The club currently view the 25-year-old as a useful squad option. However, he can only fulfil that use if he is fit to play, and recurrent injuries have been a major issue for him since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium from Bologna in the summer of 2021.
If the Gunners can find a buyer for the 42-cap Japan international this winter, then they must accept any reasonable offer for his services.
Tomiyasu’s value will continue to drop as his fitness concerns endure and his current contract runs down. What’s more, the money raised from his departure would help to fund the search for a replacement that Arteta could be more reliant upon.
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