Mikel Arteta praised Takehiro Tomiyasu after Arsenal win on Wednesday

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Mikel Arteta has praised Takehiro Tomiyasu after his performance for Arsenal in their latest victory on Wednesday night – in comments reported by the club’s official website.

The Gunners remain top of the Premier League. And they continue to boast a flawless record at the start of the campaign.

Their latest win came tonight as they beat Aston Villa at the Emirates. Just like Fulham at the weekend, Arteta’s side won 2-1. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli scored the goals for the home side.

Tomiyasu made another appearance off the bench for Arsenal. The Japan international replaced Ben White with 25 minutes to go.

No Arsenal player actually won more tackles than Tomiyasu, according to Whoscored. And Arteta suggested that he is really pleased that he appears to be building up his minutes after a difficult time with injury.

“We are really happy that we are loading some minutes into him and he’s responding really well,” he told Arsenal’s official website.

“He’s been training now for weeks without any issues which is the first period he’s been able to do that in the last six or seven months, and you can see the way he played today when he came on – I think he was really good.”

Arteta praised Takehiro Tomiyasu

Tomiyasu was a revelation during his first season in North London. He, of course, arrived on deadline day 12 months ago. And he may not have been a signing that supporters were overly excited about.

However, he took little time to adapt to the Premier League. The problem for the 23-year-old is that he did have some issues with injuries. And ultimately, he only managed to make 20 starts in the top-flight last season.

White has made an excellent start to the campaign away from his favoured position. That has taken the pressure off of Tomiyasu as he works his way back to full fitness.

But he is clearly getting there. And perhaps it may not be too long before he does make that first start of the season.