Who is Takehiro Tomiyasu? Arsenal’s new €23m Japanese signing

31 Aug 2021 12:52 BST
4 min read

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bologna, 2020-21 season — © ProShots

Arsenal’s crazy summer of spending goes on. The Gunners have agreed a deal to sign Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu for €20m, plus €3m in add-ons.

Tomiyasu is just the latest arrival at the Emirates Stadium, following the summer signings of Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale.

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So what do we know about Arsenal’s newest signing?

What position does Takehiro Tomiyasu play in?

Tomiyasu is a versatile defender who is equally capable of playing at centre-back or at right-back.

He has occasionally featured at left back also, but only in an emergency.

In his last 50 matches for Bologna, Tomiyasu has played 24 times at right back, 22 times at centre back, three times at left back and on one occasion at right midfield.

How good is Takehiro Tomiyasu?

Standing at 6ft 2in and well-built, Tomiyasu cuts a very impressive athletic figure. He is fast, aggressive, with lots of stamina and seems well suited physically to the Premier League.

A committed player who leaves everything on the pitch, the 22-year-old is brave, always prepared to make tackles, go into aerial challenges and throw his body on the line.

“Tomiyasu is strong, energetic and plays with order and great discipline," former Bologna defender and 2006 World Cup winner Cristian Zaccardo said of the Japanese star. “I like him a lot.”

© ProShots - Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bologna, 2020-21

Tomiyasu joined Bologna in the summer of 2019 from Sint-Truiden for €9m and instantly won over the club and its fans.

"Tomiyasu immediately impressed us because he is very good with his feet and knows how to adapt to all defensive roles," Bologna team manager and club legend Marco Di Vaio said.

He spent his first year mainly playing at right-back where he proved to be much more than just a defender, galloping up and down the flank and also being a threat in attack.

He scored one of Bologna’s goals of the season with a stunning left-foot screamer into the top corner against Milan at San Siro. In total he scored three goals for Bologna.

When it comes to Arsenal, there’s been a lot of misses in the transfer market, but Tomiyasu would be a smart piece of business.

Joy to watch with Bologna in Serie A - solid defensively, a handful in attack + comfortable in possession👌#AFC pic.twitter.com/hcAPtR7EaX
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) August 31, 2021

Tomiyasu started the 2020-21 campaign at centre back but after a few difficult performances was switched back to the right-back role in the second half of the campaign, impressing there again.

Both Tottenham and Atalanta were in negotiations to sign him earlier this summer but it is Arsenal who have claimed his signature.

Tomiyasu, who has been capped 23 times by Japan, will certainly be an upgrade over Arsenal’s rather weak options at right-back and this is where he is perhaps most realistically going to feature for the Gunners.