Fabrizio Romano claims Arsenal made ‘successful decision’ on ‘tremendous’ £20m star

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Arsenal star Takehiro Tomiyasu has been excellent in recent weeks, but things could have gone very differently for him this season.

The 24-year-old was outstanding as Arsenal beat Sevilla in the Champions League, and although he has not started regularly, his performances have been very good at times this season.

Tomiyasu is almost the perfect utility defender in that he can play across the entire back line, and he has mainly featured as a left-back in this campaign.

He looks back to his best form after some injury struggles last season, and it has now been revealed that Arsenal kept the faith with Tomiyasu when presented with a transfer decision.

Tomiyasu could have departed Arsenal

In his Daily Briefing, Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that Serie A giants Inter Milan wanted the Japan International in the summer window, but Arsenal refused to let Tomiyasu leave.

“Takehiro Tomiyasu is another player earning praise for his recent performances and although I don’t currently have any information on the possibility of a new contract soon, Arsenal are very happy with his performances,” Romano claimed.

“I can also reveal that Inter Milan wanted Tomiyasu in July but Arsenal said no; Mikel Arteta and Edu wanted to keep him and it was clearly a successful decision, he’s really appreciated at the club and is really showing his value and versatility at the moment.”

Tomiyasu should start for Arsenal

The defender, who joined in 2021 for around £20m, can count himself unlucky that he is not a starter. Initially arriving as a right-back, he lost his place as Ben White moved to full-back from the centre, and on the left, Oleksandr Zinchenko is the first choice.

Tomiyasu’s recent performances have been so good that he should continue to start following his display at Sevilla. Mikel Arteta recently described him as “tremendous” and it is clear that he rates him highly.

Fending off interest from Inter shows that Arsenal see Tomiyasu as a vital part of the squad, and his versatility across the back line means that he can be useful in a number of roles and situations.

Tomiyasu now deserves the chance to build upon his good form and try to establish himself as a starter again, and benching him after his recent excellent displays would be somewhat unfair.