24-year-old Arsenal player now admits he really lost confidence last season

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Defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has admitted that he lost a lot of confidence at Arsenal last season.

The Japanese international was speaking to Football London on the Gunners’ pre-season tour of the United States.

It’s not been the easiest 12 months for Takehiro Tomiyasu.

After losing his place in Arsenal’s team to Ben White, he’s mainly been used as a substitute.

He then picked up a serious knee injury against Sporting in the Europa League that prematurely ended his campaign.

The 24-year-old has since declared himself fully fit and will be raring to go for next season.

However, Tomiyasu has admitted he lost his confidence at Arsenal last year as a result of his reduced minutes and injury issues.

He may not find it easy to work his way back into the team this season either.

The signing of Jurrien Timber has only added further competition at both right-back and centre-half.

His versatility still makes him a useful option for Mikel Arteta this season.

It’s hard to see where Tomiyasu earns his minutes given Arsenal’s involvement in the Champions League where Arteta will want his strongest side playing each week.

Tomiyasu admits loss of confidence at Arsenal last season

Speaking about the previous campaign, Tomiyasu said: “Yes, it was a difficult period for me.

“Ben White was doing very well and to be honest I lost confidence. But the injured period was four months and I thought about a lot of things at this time.”

There’s already been a suggestion this summer that Tomiyasu could be shifted to left-back permanently next season.

With Timber and White, Arteta now has two very strong options on the right-hand side.

The January signing of Jakub Kiwior now provides more cover at centre-back, even if Rob Holding might depart.

A position on the left seems to be the only place Tomiyasu might start to regain his confidence in an Arsenal shirt.

He started there against Manchester United, but only because Oleksandr Zinchenko was injured.

Arteta has also said that Kieran Tierney still has an important role to play next season.

This leaves Tomiyasu in a difficult position, where despite his versatility, he still looks unlikely to play regularly going forward.