The Arsenal right-back has opened up on how it felt to lose his right-back spot to Ben White last season and how he is feeling regarding his role ahead of the new campaign
Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has vowed to return to form this season after emotionally admitting he lost his confidence last term.
Following a stellar debut season during 2021/22, Tomiyasu saw his 2022/23 campaign littered with injuries and therefore struggled to find the consistency required to feature regularly as part of Mikel Arteta’s team. The Japan international actually ended the season with just six league starts under his belt, a far cry from the campaign prior.
Ben White, who initially arrived as a centre-back, surprised many fans and pundits alike by adjusting to life as a right-back seamlessly, keeping Tomiyasu out of the side in the process. The former Bologna ace was also guilty of arguably the most high-profile blunder of Arsenal’s season when his underhit backpass was pounced on by Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne.
“It was a difficult period for me,” Tomiyasu told football.london. ” 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.