BBC pundit noticed Tomiyasu was devastated to come off for Arsenal
Mark Schwarzer noted on BBC Sport that Takehiro Tomiyasu looked devastated having had to come off inside nine minutes during Arsenal’s Europa League loss against Sporting on Thursday.
The Gunners are out after an agonising defeat to Ruben Amorim’s men on penalties at the Emirates. But Mikel Arteta’s men did not have to wait for the shootout for the first blow of the night.
Arteta was forced into an early change, with Tomiyasu needing to be replaced by Ben White at right-back. The Japan international was involved in a collision which led to the Arsenal man landing awkwardly.
Tomiyasu devastated coming off in Arsenal win
Unfortunately, he was not able to continue much longer. And Schwarzer noticed that he was extremely disappointed to come off so early into the game.
“Looks devastated does Takehiro Tomiyasu. It was just a really unfortunate fall from him as he got his studs stuck in the ground,” he told BBC Sport.
“But now there is an opportunity for Ben White to show Gareth Southgate what he is missing out on.”
It has been a difficult campaign for Tomiyasu. During his first year with the club following his £20 million move, he was a stalwart of the side. However, this season has been a different story.
Arteta has tended to use White at right-back for the large majority of the campaign. That has provided balance to the side with Oleksandr Zinchenko often looking to contribute in midfield on the opposite flank.
The Europa League provided a really good opportunity for players in Tomiyasu’s position in the squad. Arsenal were clearly taking the competition seriously. However, it would have been an error for Arteta to not make changes.
Therefore, players such as Tomiyasu needed to grasp their chances when they came his way. He may well have a role to play in the Premier League this season if there are any injuries.
Arsenal will be keeping everything crossed that the problem is not serious and Tomiyasu is back in the ranks in the near future, if not, just after the international break.
