Arsenal brought in defender Takehiro Tomiyasu in a deadline day move but according to The Athletic, the Gunners also had the chance to sign Tariq Lamptey.
Lamptey is a Chelsea youth product who joined Brighton last year and during the 2020-21 season, he made 11 Premier League appearances for the Seagulls, scoring and assisting two goals.
But instead of going after the tried and tested Premier League full-back/midfielder, Arsenal have chosen to put their money on 22-year-old Takehiro Tomiyasu for one particular reason.
Metro cites The Athletic: “One target at the forefront of Arteta’s thinking was Brighton full-back and former Chelsea defender Tariq Lamptey.
“The defender has emerged as one of the most promising full-backs in the Premier League following his £3m move to the south coast from Stamford Bridge.
“Though a long-term injury has curtailed his recent progress, Arsenal retained an interest in Lamptey and considered bidding for him this summer.
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“However, the Athletic claim the Gunners had reservations about Lamptey’s height and felt that he could be targeted by aerial crosses to the back post.”
As funny as it may sound but they also backed off from signing Norwich’s Max Aarons for the very same reason.
Another rationale why Mikel Arteta was more interested in signing Tomiyasu and not Tariq Lamptey is that the former Serie A defender can play as a right-back as well as a centre-back.
This versatility will be really helpful for the Arsenal boss – more so since the way, his side have started the new season. He can use the 22-year-old as a right-back and if required he can also shift to a three-man defensive line with Tomiyasu playing on the right-hand side.
Also, Tariq Lamptey has been really injury prone and right now he is out with a hamstring injury, his expected return being sometime towards the end of this month.
