Mikel Arteta admits Takehiro Tomiyasu did something he’d never seen before vs Man City

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has now admitted Takehiro Tomiyasu did something he’d never seen him do before last night.

In the Gunners biggest game of the season, they fell short against title rivals Manchester City.

Speaking to the press, via Arsenal’s official website, Arteta was reviewing his side’s performance.

Arsenal went into last night’s match knowing that whatever the result, they’d still have a game in hand over their rivals.

It’s a match they now desperately need to win, as City jumped ahead of them on goal difference at full-time.

The first goal came as a result of an error from Japanese international Tomiyasu.

He was thrown into the side ahead of Ben White by Arteta, but the decision failed to pay off.

Jack Grealish put Tomiyasu under pressure in possession, and his back pass was intercepted by Kevin de Bruyne.

The Belgian is the last player you want to give the ball away to, and he made no mistake slotting past Aaron Ramsdale.

It would have been a satisfying goal for Pep Guardiola, who was seen shouting at Grealish to keep the defender under pressure.

Arteta has now admitted it’s a mistake he’s never seen Takehiro Tomiyasu make.

He’ll be hoping he doesn’t repeat it in future.

Arteta says Takehiro Tomiyasu made completely out-of-character mistake last night

The Arsenal manager was asked about Tomiyasu’s mistake after the game and said: “I don’t know if it’s experience, or it’s bad luck, I’ve never seen Tomiyasu make that back pass in seven years and he did it today.

“It’s part of it, and obviously, they have the quality to punish you.”

The £56,000-a-week defender has had to patiently wait for opportunities in the league this season.

His versatility has meant he’s been Arteta’s go-to man if either White or Oleksandr Zinchenko has been unavailable.

Arteta would have been pleased to see Martin Odegaard comforting Takehiro Tomiyasu after his mistake yesterday.

Unfortunately, it proved to be a costly one, and the pressure’s now really on to maintain their title challenge.