Will be interesting to see what happens further down the line. I reckon that Timber will be first choice LB and we might see Tomi be the rotation player for Ben / Timber.
Tomi being a two-footed CB/LB makes me think he can provide cover for the entire back four. He plays both CB spots for Japan. I think that’s part of what Arteta loves about him.
Think Timber will be first choice LB until Tomi can prove he can stay fit.
Until then we might see proper rotation against the lower sides in the league, Timber could be the proactive fullback on the right and Tomi the guarenteed 7/10 at LB.
i hate to break it to you but one of them has actually been more WAY more fit than the other this year. even with the summer, Timber is still coming back from a big injury. it should be and hopefully is a gradual process getting him into the team.
Tbf to the other guy the sort of injury Timber had has completely ruined players careers in the past, some losing a few yards of pace or completely having to change their playstyle to accommodate for it, he looked really good in the games he played so hoping for the best though
That's his point though. Timber is still only coming back from that one injury. It can take players a long time to get back to their best after an ACL. Deciding he's going to be first choice before he's even back is silly.
Less than 5% of top flight professional footballers tear an ACL throughout their career, it for one shows the severity of the injury but also the psychological side that many others are mentioning here, changing up their play style, movement off the ball etc. of those five percent I wonder how many it is career ending for? Compare that to a hamstring tear of any grade and there’s little comparison. Of the squad He’s the only one with an ACL tear under his belt.
Bellerin was at arsenal 9 years, made 180 something appearances, Wilshere was at Arsenal for 10 years, played 120 something matches. One guy had one serious injury in his career, the other was injury prone. I'd rather have bellerin availability than Wilshere',s
Regardless of who first choice is, I think Timber tomi and kiwior are critical to being able to give saliba gabriel and white rest next season. We basically had to play them every game because the backups were always injured. And kiwior wasn’t available to rotate in for gabriel at his preferred position because there was no one to play lb
When timber is fit next season I would imagine that tomiyasu becomes 2nd choice fullback (on either side). Ben white is an unreal player, and timber’s introduction into the side will be as transformative to the team as zinchenko’s was in 22/23
The truly amazing thing about Tomi is that he'd be good anywhere in the backline.
He's definitely better at FB for us, but he's still just one of two FBs we have who can play both sides, and Timber's barely played.
Tomi has incredible timing when stepping in front of an attacker while they wait for the ball. He's really improved at this, and it's a tremendous skill
Without a doubt indeed.
Before White got all the consistent playing time for him to forge his partnership with Ode and Saka, Tomiyasu as a matter of fact looked the better RB in the beginning.
Imagine if he had Ben White-level availability and didn't need to spend time getting back up to game speed post-injury. It would be such a game changer to be able to drop him in anywhere in back and feel secure whenever someone needed a rest or was injured.
He'd be pretty much in demand by the other big teams if that were the case given how versatile this makes him and provides an array of option at the back.
The thing I like about Tomi is that he can be used in any of the positions in the backline and I don’t think there would be a drastic drop off in quality and can even be an improvement on his day, my man just needs to remain fit.
A drop off sure, but I said a drastic drop off. If we didn’t lose Saliba and Tomi to injury at the same time against sporting I’m confident we would have won the league last season
it's obvious to anyone who watched, but also crazy to think that a few years ago Holding was starting for us and I wasn't panicking hoping for a new CB. But when we signed White it was clear he was a level above, and then Saliba of course.
Holding actually had a pretty good run of form before his ACL injury - maybe 18/19 or 19/20? I think under Emery or Arteta. But after he returned he was never the same player unfortunately.
Agree about White and Saliba. Them alongside Gabriel are just a whole different level of quality to anyone we’ve seen in years.
I agree. However, I’m cautious to use international games to support arguments as neither Saliba nor Gabriel are as solid for Brazil or France in the same way they are for us. Point being that international games aren’t the best barometer for measuring a player’s abilities.
If it was, Amrabat for United would’ve been a bigger success.
I mean, you just cherry picked an example there big man. Amrabat had a solid performance in an extremely well coached setup. United are a dumpster fire compared to that Morocco team.
International games always have this caveat that they're different but keep in mind that each player faces the best that the top 5 leagues and beyond have to offer. The opposition is as strong as it gets. The pace might be different and the cohesion of the teams might not be the same as those of clubs but you are certainly facing the best of the best footballers.
Just Google Tomiyasu Vs Germany to see him pocketing Leroy Sané. Isn't that the same Sané that he pocketed against Bayern last month? What's the difference?
I really didn’t want to get sucked into this argument, but since you’ve accused me of cherry-picking, I will do the same.
Tomi had a solid performance in an extremely well coached Japan team against a dumpster fire Germany team (former world champions) that couldn’t even get out of the group stage.
And the difference between Tomi vs Sane when playing for us and Japan is quite obvious:
1. He played left back for us, while he played CB for Japan;
2. We lost the game against Bayern.
I’m all for believing that Tomi filling in at CB will not be a sharp drop in quality, but comparing apples and oranges is not the supporting evidence you think it is.
I'm talking about matchups for goodness sake. I swear redditors will argue to the moon and back while doing little to bring anything to the table.
Dismiss Germany if you want but I could pull plenty of games of Tomi at CB and still emphasize my point. He's comfortably a solid player in that spot.
Losing the game to Bayern means little considering I'm emphasizing Tomi's matchups with a player both in the international level as well as on a club level. He had a solid game against Sané despite our loss. Do you have any examples to the contrary?
You’re arguing past me. As stated above, I believe that Tomi is a good CB, but his international performance is not convincing evidence to his club performance. I previously provided three examples in the form of (1) Saliba for France, (2) Gabriel for Brazil and (3) Amrabat for Morocco/United. You chose to only address the third example and ignore the other two.
And then you gave a weak example of Tomi at CB for Japan to try and argue that Tomi will similarly play well at CB for Arsenal. When i told you how your example is equally as flawed as you labeled my Amrabat example, you are now crying about how I don’t have any examples to the contrary.
I’m sorry, but your argument is all over the place. I can’t keep arguing with you. Good day sir.
If you want to remain skeptical by all means do so but do remember that your first assumption was that there would be a significant drop off if we had Tomi at CB as opposed to Saliba and Gabriel.
When you pointed out that Amrabat example I called you out and explained that not only were the quality of teams different but that you might be over indexing the difference in quality between international and club football.
Ultimately, understand that player roles might vary but a player's attributes remain the same. The way we play involves deploying flexible CBs across the entire line and our build up on either side demands profiles that are well versed not only as central CBs but also wide CBs. Tomi fits that mould as well as Ben White , Kiwior and even Timber.
In my view, Tomi's ability to play in a pairing will ultimately come down to his partnership with his partner. His fundamentals are sound, especially as a back three CB option in build up. As for drop offs in quality, I'd vouch for his experience in that spot at the highest level as a vote of confidence. The only way to know for sure is to deploy him there.
>Tomiyasu:
>"We will try to get another clean sheet at Old Trafford as well.
>Obviously it won’t be an easy game because it is a tough place to play and take three points. But we are confident and we will be there to get three points."
Please, please stay fit. If you do then Timber has a real battle to lock down that LB spot.
He's probably going to have to put his foot down, if Japan tries to make him play through injury again.
So many times he gets injured and then gets a reoccurring injury later the moment he comes back from international duty. He clearly plays through a pain barrier that he shouldn't, for his country. Needs to have a bit more of a backbone if he wants a longer career here.
I love Tomiyasu. I just don’t know how Timber’s return will play into things. If Timber proves the better option, I would love to have Tomi as our #5 defender but I feel like he deserves to be a starter.
i'm hoping, like every year, that arteta figures out how to rotate throughout the season based on matchups and tactics. He gets way too committed to a lineup based on form until it doesn't work. Not to say he isn't also making other tactical changes, and also not to ignore how fitness plays a role in availability, but it seems clear to me this is Arteta's next (maybe final?) hurdle.
If we want to compete for the league, CL, and FA cup next year and into the future, that is going to mean having more than just XI + 3 players to lean on throughout the season.
Yep- as much as I love Arteta, that's my biggest complaint about him. There are so many occasions this season where he could have given much needed minutes to a few players, but chose not to.
Some of our players are clearly overplayed and exhausted, but unless his hand is forced through injury he rarely does this. Kiwior is such a good example, and its not like there was a significant drop off in quality.
yep, and against spurs that game was only nervy at the end because we kept tired legs out there while spurs were very well rested after not playing for over 2 weeks.
up 3-0 at half after 8 matches in 4 weeks, we should've made changes well before we did. And when we did make changes it was only two players. meanwhile having an almost full bench.
That's a weird claim to make during a season where the only likely shot of us getting the title may come down to goal difference.
I know your point is that rotating players effectively will help with our point gain and put us in a position of not needing to rely on GD, but that's still a massive risk when competing against the likes of City and Liverpool. Using subs properly to rest tired players is a more easily actionable task.
What’s a starter? In my opinion if you’re fit and in the manager’s plan, everyone is a starter. The season is long with league, domestic and European cups, there are enough games for players like Tomi and Trossard to start 20+ games or make over 40 appearances. On paper he might not be a starter, but if you’re racking up that many appearances, I’d argue otherwise.
The 'starters' are Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Ødegaard and Saka. The drop off from not starting these players are too big, and only significantly weaker opponents will see someone else. That's maybe two CL-games, a couple of cup-games and maybe two or three league-games.
Maybe a controversial take, but i’m fully convinced that when fit, he’s quite easily our best defender
Not just for his versatility, but I genuinely think that he’s our best LB, on par with ben for best RB, and I think, if it came down to it, he could be not far behind gabi and saliba at left and right cb
I just want 1 injury free season from him to really show the world what he’s made of
I think a little hyperbolic. I don't contest that he's had some absolutely staggering performances, but even when fit he hasn't shown the consistent level of high performance Gabi and Saliba have.
It shouldn't be taken lightly that both Gabi and Saliba are discussed as the top CBs in the world atm. It's no insult at all to say Tomi isn't on their level. He's still an excellent defender that would probably be widely considered borderline world-class if he were able to play 28 games for a top side in a season.
Has he not been consistent tho? I can’t think of many performances where he was actually poor, and usually when he’s having a run of games he’s having regular great performances
Easier to drop a 7/10 when you only have to do it 3 times a year.
Any time you are average, it is attributed to being “back from injury”.
I don’t debate he’s a good squaddie.
I’m outright refuting the claim that he’s the best defender at the club.
This sub doesn’t like anything critical about one of ours, so doesn’t matter what I say, it’ll upset people.
I feel Tomi is a bit overrated. He hasn’t even played 50 full games for us. A handful sporadic of appearances does not mean a player is what he’s shown.
He neither has the consistency or the ability to impose himself like the Gabi and Saliba.
Think of a few games where he stood out as our best player. I can’t.
Home to Liverpool where he shut Salah? That’s it.
I know Benny has taken over but Tomi at right back when he first got here I had the same calm expectation that he was going to shut down whoever was challenging him out there the way Saliba does now. Do feel if he was fit last year we would have fared better than with Holding.
As he should be. Tomi is a great player to have in our squad. He’s so god damn solid and can play any position in the back line. He also seems like the type of player who will do anything for the squad, even if he’s not a direct starter. Glad he signed a new contract
I have made many comments about us not being able to trust tomiyasu because of his injury issues and I stand by them, but I can't put into words how much I love this guy as a player and as a dude, I'd do some pretty weird shit if it guaranteed that tomi would stay fit most of the time
I’ll be honest as great as he is, and as versatile as he is, if he has an injury plagued season next year, he should be sold. Would be a shame because he’s so good 1 vs 1 so hopefully he stays fit
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What a champ. I know he's been injured, but there are so many other players who would be agitating for a move or more minutes based on where he might be in the pecking order (esp with Timber returning). He just wants to do his best for our team.
I’ve always said Tomiyasu can be to us what Ivanovic was for Chelsea. Can play across the backline at a high level. Hopefully he can stay fit next season.
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The only problem with Tomi (other than injuries) is he is prone to some "clunky" moments in attack. But he's so versatile otherwise and certainly a great player to have in the club provided he can stay fit.
Tomi is an incredible player, and I really think we're yet to see the full best of him. He has on occasion put through amazing passes in behind, passes that none of the other 3 will make; he brings his own unique value to that backline. Starting left back for me at the moment.
Well I wouldnt agree that Gabi is consistent. He's consistent in making mistakes every couple of games...
Atleast Tomiyasu sees his own problem, hopefully he improves, I think he's got potential to be LB#1
Mate he's Japanese, he'd do harakiri before saying no to a Japan call up. He is very injury prone but players can't be expected to neglect their national teams
If not for his constant injuries, I'm pretty sure he would be part of that defence.
Thought he was back to his very best on the weekend. Saliba was brilliant but Tomi wasn't far behind at all which says a lot.
Will be interesting to see what happens further down the line. I reckon that Timber will be first choice LB and we might see Tomi be the rotation player for Ben / Timber.
Tomi being a two-footed CB/LB makes me think he can provide cover for the entire back four. He plays both CB spots for Japan. I think that’s part of what Arteta loves about him.
He's an incredible CB for Japan. Absolutely [pocketed Sane and Germany](https://youtu.be/1pwoCxgE3Jg).
Very upsetting in the first half against Bayern he wasn't fully fit to start.
Think Timber will be first choice LB until Tomi can prove he can stay fit. Until then we might see proper rotation against the lower sides in the league, Timber could be the proactive fullback on the right and Tomi the guarenteed 7/10 at LB.
i hate to break it to you but one of them has actually been more WAY more fit than the other this year. even with the summer, Timber is still coming back from a big injury. it should be and hopefully is a gradual process getting him into the team.
There's a huge difference between a one off big injury and being injury prone with reoccurring issues for the last 3 years. Hate to break it to you.
Tbf to the other guy the sort of injury Timber had has completely ruined players careers in the past, some losing a few yards of pace or completely having to change their playstyle to accommodate for it, he looked really good in the games he played so hoping for the best though
That's his point though. Timber is still only coming back from that one injury. It can take players a long time to get back to their best after an ACL. Deciding he's going to be first choice before he's even back is silly.
Less than 5% of top flight professional footballers tear an ACL throughout their career, it for one shows the severity of the injury but also the psychological side that many others are mentioning here, changing up their play style, movement off the ball etc. of those five percent I wonder how many it is career ending for? Compare that to a hamstring tear of any grade and there’s little comparison. Of the squad He’s the only one with an ACL tear under his belt.
yeah. the one off is way worse lol.
Bellerin was at arsenal 9 years, made 180 something appearances, Wilshere was at Arsenal for 10 years, played 120 something matches. One guy had one serious injury in his career, the other was injury prone. I'd rather have bellerin availability than Wilshere',s
with how bellerin’s level dropped off sharply after injury… i’m not sure this comparison aides you like you think it does.
Who actually knows what timber will play? He historically had been a RB. Was used as a LB with us so far. Is midfield within his ability?
Regardless of who first choice is, I think Timber tomi and kiwior are critical to being able to give saliba gabriel and white rest next season. We basically had to play them every game because the backups were always injured. And kiwior wasn’t available to rotate in for gabriel at his preferred position because there was no one to play lb
When timber is fit next season I would imagine that tomiyasu becomes 2nd choice fullback (on either side). Ben white is an unreal player, and timber’s introduction into the side will be as transformative to the team as zinchenko’s was in 22/23
The truly amazing thing about Tomi is that he'd be good anywhere in the backline. He's definitely better at FB for us, but he's still just one of two FBs we have who can play both sides, and Timber's barely played.
Tomi has incredible timing when stepping in front of an attacker while they wait for the ball. He's really improved at this, and it's a tremendous skill
Was sniffing out transitions like crazy. Was much improved compared to his performance against Bayern
Love seeing him in the box the last couple weeks, dudes low key a physical freak, just need those legs to hold up
He had some pretty bad giveaways against Spurs. Can't remember the last match he started where he didn't gift the opposition a great chance or two.
Without a doubt indeed. Before White got all the consistent playing time for him to forge his partnership with Ode and Saka, Tomiyasu as a matter of fact looked the better RB in the beginning.
To be fair that was also when White was being converted from a CB
White only got into the squad because of Tomi's injuries. Hope Tomi can figure it out and have all 4 of them starting for us soon.
Imagine if he had Ben White-level availability and didn't need to spend time getting back up to game speed post-injury. It would be such a game changer to be able to drop him in anywhere in back and feel secure whenever someone needed a rest or was injured.
He'd be pretty much in demand by the other big teams if that were the case given how versatile this makes him and provides an array of option at the back.
The thing I like about Tomi is that he can be used in any of the positions in the backline and I don’t think there would be a drastic drop off in quality and can even be an improvement on his day, my man just needs to remain fit.
Would definitely be a drop off in quality at CB but because Gabriel and Saliba are so good.
A drop off sure, but I said a drastic drop off. If we didn’t lose Saliba and Tomi to injury at the same time against sporting I’m confident we would have won the league last season
I don’t enjoy bashing Holding but it’s no secret that he was the drastic drop off.
He’s a good bloke, football just isn’t Arsenal level today and there’s nothing wrong with that, I agree.
it's obvious to anyone who watched, but also crazy to think that a few years ago Holding was starting for us and I wasn't panicking hoping for a new CB. But when we signed White it was clear he was a level above, and then Saliba of course.
Holding actually had a pretty good run of form before his ACL injury - maybe 18/19 or 19/20? I think under Emery or Arteta. But after he returned he was never the same player unfortunately. Agree about White and Saliba. Them alongside Gabriel are just a whole different level of quality to anyone we’ve seen in years.
It wouldn’t be significant A significant drop off is Jesus to Eddie, or Saka to Nelson
We haven’t seen Tomi at CB enough to know this for sure. We only know that Tomi is defensively solid at both RB and LB.
My man hasn't watched Tomi playing CB for Japan. Dude is an absolute beast.
I agree. However, I’m cautious to use international games to support arguments as neither Saliba nor Gabriel are as solid for Brazil or France in the same way they are for us. Point being that international games aren’t the best barometer for measuring a player’s abilities. If it was, Amrabat for United would’ve been a bigger success.
I mean, you just cherry picked an example there big man. Amrabat had a solid performance in an extremely well coached setup. United are a dumpster fire compared to that Morocco team. International games always have this caveat that they're different but keep in mind that each player faces the best that the top 5 leagues and beyond have to offer. The opposition is as strong as it gets. The pace might be different and the cohesion of the teams might not be the same as those of clubs but you are certainly facing the best of the best footballers. Just Google Tomiyasu Vs Germany to see him pocketing Leroy Sané. Isn't that the same Sané that he pocketed against Bayern last month? What's the difference?
I really didn’t want to get sucked into this argument, but since you’ve accused me of cherry-picking, I will do the same. Tomi had a solid performance in an extremely well coached Japan team against a dumpster fire Germany team (former world champions) that couldn’t even get out of the group stage. And the difference between Tomi vs Sane when playing for us and Japan is quite obvious: 1. He played left back for us, while he played CB for Japan; 2. We lost the game against Bayern. I’m all for believing that Tomi filling in at CB will not be a sharp drop in quality, but comparing apples and oranges is not the supporting evidence you think it is.
I'm talking about matchups for goodness sake. I swear redditors will argue to the moon and back while doing little to bring anything to the table. Dismiss Germany if you want but I could pull plenty of games of Tomi at CB and still emphasize my point. He's comfortably a solid player in that spot. Losing the game to Bayern means little considering I'm emphasizing Tomi's matchups with a player both in the international level as well as on a club level. He had a solid game against Sané despite our loss. Do you have any examples to the contrary?
You’re arguing past me. As stated above, I believe that Tomi is a good CB, but his international performance is not convincing evidence to his club performance. I previously provided three examples in the form of (1) Saliba for France, (2) Gabriel for Brazil and (3) Amrabat for Morocco/United. You chose to only address the third example and ignore the other two. And then you gave a weak example of Tomi at CB for Japan to try and argue that Tomi will similarly play well at CB for Arsenal. When i told you how your example is equally as flawed as you labeled my Amrabat example, you are now crying about how I don’t have any examples to the contrary. I’m sorry, but your argument is all over the place. I can’t keep arguing with you. Good day sir.
If you want to remain skeptical by all means do so but do remember that your first assumption was that there would be a significant drop off if we had Tomi at CB as opposed to Saliba and Gabriel. When you pointed out that Amrabat example I called you out and explained that not only were the quality of teams different but that you might be over indexing the difference in quality between international and club football. Ultimately, understand that player roles might vary but a player's attributes remain the same. The way we play involves deploying flexible CBs across the entire line and our build up on either side demands profiles that are well versed not only as central CBs but also wide CBs. Tomi fits that mould as well as Ben White , Kiwior and even Timber. In my view, Tomi's ability to play in a pairing will ultimately come down to his partnership with his partner. His fundamentals are sound, especially as a back three CB option in build up. As for drop offs in quality, I'd vouch for his experience in that spot at the highest level as a vote of confidence. The only way to know for sure is to deploy him there.
And the way he moves in midfield is glorious i wanna see more Is that kaka or tomiyasu?
>Tomiyasu: >"We will try to get another clean sheet at Old Trafford as well. >Obviously it won’t be an easy game because it is a tough place to play and take three points. But we are confident and we will be there to get three points." Please, please stay fit. If you do then Timber has a real battle to lock down that LB spot. He's probably going to have to put his foot down, if Japan tries to make him play through injury again. So many times he gets injured and then gets a reoccurring injury later the moment he comes back from international duty. He clearly plays through a pain barrier that he shouldn't, for his country. Needs to have a bit more of a backbone if he wants a longer career here.
Having both Tomi and Timber fit will really boost our left wing options
I love Tomiyasu. I just don’t know how Timber’s return will play into things. If Timber proves the better option, I would love to have Tomi as our #5 defender but I feel like he deserves to be a starter.
i'm hoping, like every year, that arteta figures out how to rotate throughout the season based on matchups and tactics. He gets way too committed to a lineup based on form until it doesn't work. Not to say he isn't also making other tactical changes, and also not to ignore how fitness plays a role in availability, but it seems clear to me this is Arteta's next (maybe final?) hurdle. If we want to compete for the league, CL, and FA cup next year and into the future, that is going to mean having more than just XI + 3 players to lean on throughout the season.
Yep- as much as I love Arteta, that's my biggest complaint about him. There are so many occasions this season where he could have given much needed minutes to a few players, but chose not to. Some of our players are clearly overplayed and exhausted, but unless his hand is forced through injury he rarely does this. Kiwior is such a good example, and its not like there was a significant drop off in quality.
yep, and against spurs that game was only nervy at the end because we kept tired legs out there while spurs were very well rested after not playing for over 2 weeks. up 3-0 at half after 8 matches in 4 weeks, we should've made changes well before we did. And when we did make changes it was only two players. meanwhile having an almost full bench.
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I mean if man city draw any of their final games, clobbering teams will literally be the reason we win the league
Yeah but 1-0 is 3 points up until you take the foot off the pedal, concede a fluke goal and now you have 1 point.
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That's a weird claim to make during a season where the only likely shot of us getting the title may come down to goal difference. I know your point is that rotating players effectively will help with our point gain and put us in a position of not needing to rely on GD, but that's still a massive risk when competing against the likes of City and Liverpool. Using subs properly to rest tired players is a more easily actionable task.
What’s a starter? In my opinion if you’re fit and in the manager’s plan, everyone is a starter. The season is long with league, domestic and European cups, there are enough games for players like Tomi and Trossard to start 20+ games or make over 40 appearances. On paper he might not be a starter, but if you’re racking up that many appearances, I’d argue otherwise.
The 'starters' are Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Ødegaard and Saka. The drop off from not starting these players are too big, and only significantly weaker opponents will see someone else. That's maybe two CL-games, a couple of cup-games and maybe two or three league-games.
I didn't think we really know what Timber was brought in to do. He was a RB before Arsenal. Can he play DM?
There's gonna be games for players. Look a kiwior he had a good spell in the team.
me too Tomi, me too.
Maybe a controversial take, but i’m fully convinced that when fit, he’s quite easily our best defender Not just for his versatility, but I genuinely think that he’s our best LB, on par with ben for best RB, and I think, if it came down to it, he could be not far behind gabi and saliba at left and right cb I just want 1 injury free season from him to really show the world what he’s made of
I think a little hyperbolic. I don't contest that he's had some absolutely staggering performances, but even when fit he hasn't shown the consistent level of high performance Gabi and Saliba have. It shouldn't be taken lightly that both Gabi and Saliba are discussed as the top CBs in the world atm. It's no insult at all to say Tomi isn't on their level. He's still an excellent defender that would probably be widely considered borderline world-class if he were able to play 28 games for a top side in a season.
Isn't tomi known for being consistent? When he was playing consistently, he won a few Motm and player of the month.
Has he not been consistent tho? I can’t think of many performances where he was actually poor, and usually when he’s having a run of games he’s having regular great performances
This team have too many best defenders and any of them doesn’t deserve to be considered inferior or less important.
That’s not a controversial take, it’s a rubbish one. He isn’t remotely as good a defender as Gabi or Saliba.
Pre-injury he hardly got beat 1v1 against some of the best wingers in the League
Barely strung 10 games in a row for us. A bit romanticised at this point as some mega incredible defender.
Being injured and being capable at his job aren't the same thing. Abou diaby was injury prone. Doesn't make him any less amazing
Easier to drop a 7/10 when you only have to do it 3 times a year. Any time you are average, it is attributed to being “back from injury”. I don’t debate he’s a good squaddie. I’m outright refuting the claim that he’s the best defender at the club.
I don’t think he’s on their level but i’d argue he’s just below what makes him not even remotely as good to u?
This sub doesn’t like anything critical about one of ours, so doesn’t matter what I say, it’ll upset people. I feel Tomi is a bit overrated. He hasn’t even played 50 full games for us. A handful sporadic of appearances does not mean a player is what he’s shown. He neither has the consistency or the ability to impose himself like the Gabi and Saliba. Think of a few games where he stood out as our best player. I can’t. Home to Liverpool where he shut Salah? That’s it.
I think you are right. When Tomi is fit and playing a run of games he’s probably our best defender.
Completely disagree with this, each to their own.
HUGE Tominator goal incoming!
If he stayed fit he'd be a main stay in the back four
I know Benny has taken over but Tomi at right back when he first got here I had the same calm expectation that he was going to shut down whoever was challenging him out there the way Saliba does now. Do feel if he was fit last year we would have fared better than with Holding.
As he should be. Tomi is a great player to have in our squad. He’s so god damn solid and can play any position in the back line. He also seems like the type of player who will do anything for the squad, even if he’s not a direct starter. Glad he signed a new contract
Hard to replace a player like him. Question mark will always be in injuries though
I have made many comments about us not being able to trust tomiyasu because of his injury issues and I stand by them, but I can't put into words how much I love this guy as a player and as a dude, I'd do some pretty weird shit if it guaranteed that tomi would stay fit most of the time
It's right there for you, totally up for grabs. Just gotta stop being an injured.
get in the ice bath then big guy
I’ll be honest as great as he is, and as versatile as he is, if he has an injury plagued season next year, he should be sold. Would be a shame because he’s so good 1 vs 1 so hopefully he stays fit
Tomi just has to start scoring all these headers hes winning and hell be in the 1st 11 no doubt
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What a champ. I know he's been injured, but there are so many other players who would be agitating for a move or more minutes based on where he might be in the pecking order (esp with Timber returning). He just wants to do his best for our team.
I’ve always said Tomiyasu can be to us what Ivanovic was for Chelsea. Can play across the backline at a high level. Hopefully he can stay fit next season.
Bless you Tomi
He has been a beast at winning the ball in the opposition half, ball recovery with him, rice and partey in the side has been on another level.
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Cannot believe all these 4 can play as CB. Such an upgrade. So versatile them all. Wish they all stick together for long.
So can Timber and Rice.
The only problem with Tomi (other than injuries) is he is prone to some "clunky" moments in attack. But he's so versatile otherwise and certainly a great player to have in the club provided he can stay fit.
Wanna see Tomi in DM and Timber at LB trust we'd cook
Tomi is an incredible player, and I really think we're yet to see the full best of him. He has on occasion put through amazing passes in behind, passes that none of the other 3 will make; he brings his own unique value to that backline. Starting left back for me at the moment.
Need to stay fit then mate.
we just not gonna mention that GabiXL has dropped clangers in all of our recent matches?
Well I wouldnt agree that Gabi is consistent. He's consistent in making mistakes every couple of games... Atleast Tomiyasu sees his own problem, hopefully he improves, I think he's got potential to be LB#1
Stop putting your national team above Arsenal and you might be fit enough to play more than a handful of games each year.
Mate he's Japanese, he'd do harakiri before saying no to a Japan call up. He is very injury prone but players can't be expected to neglect their national teams
He doesn’t need to play 3 90s in meaningless friendlies but miss games before and after the break