‘Very good’: Mikel Arteta claims 23-year-old Arsenal player did something simply incredible against Liverpool

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claims Takehiro Tomiyasu did something simply incredible against Liverpool yesterday.

The Gunners picked up yet another impressive win yesterday as they beat Liverpool 3-2 at the Emirates.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli stole the show with dazzling performances from both flanks. But Arteta has also highlighted Tomiyasu’s performance from left-back.

The 23-year-old faced the daunting task of keeping Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah quiet and Arteta thinks he did an excellent job.

Arteta claims Tomiyasu did something incredible

Speaking to Arsenal’s official website after the game, Arteta says Tomiyasu was tasked with dealing with the threat of Salah.

“Very good, and that’s what we hoped he would do and he exactly did that,to think of doing that against Salah and actually do it is a very different story,” he said.

“He’s done it incredibly well, especially after playing on Thursday and what he’s been through in the last few weeks.”

Tomiyasu has proven to be a very astute signing for Arteta and impressed during his run in the side last season.

The Japan international has fallen down the pecking order this season after the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White’s switch to right-back.

But the Arsenal full-back will still be a useful player for Arteta as he can play anywhere across the backline.

Tomiyasu was brought in to do a specific job yesterday and he certainly managed that. The Arsenal man kept Salah unusually quiet and the Liverpool star was substituted in the second-half.

Arteta is clearly delighted with the defender’s performance. It’s an encouraging sign that a squad player like Tomiyasu has stepped into the side and played so well.

Tomiyasu had been limited to substitute appearances before yesterday but stepped into the Arsenal side like he had been playing for weeks.

The Japanese defender could be a brilliant option for Arteta to use in big games to stifle the threat of specific opposition players.