Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by Burnley in the Premier League and right-back Tomiyasu did not feature in the matchday squad.
The right-back had just made a comeback from an injury but on Sunday, it was Ben White who had to play on the right-hand side of the defensive line. The summer signing did put in a fine performance as the make-shift right-back and speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta explained why Tomiyasu was absent.
Talking after the 0-0 draw, the Arsenal boss explained: “Well, Tomiyasu had an injury and we didn’t have anybody to play in that position against Liverpool.
🚨 Tomiyasu (tight calf) and Cedric (right hip) both miss out through injury today
Speedy recovery, lads 🙌
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 23, 2022
“He really wanted to push, he tried and he played the 90 minutes, and he felt it again. So he will be out for a couple of weeks.
“Right now he needs to recover, his only focus has to be to have the best possible treatment. To look after himself, and try to be available for us as quickly as he can.
“He will be out for a few weeks.”
Will Tomiyasu be a major miss for Arsenal?
Takehiro Tomiyasu has had a positive influence on the side this season so his injury will obviously be an issue for the Gunners but thankfully, their next match is on the 10th of February when they face Wolves in the Premier League.
Arsenal enter a break this week so Tomiyasu will get some crucial time to make a quick recovery. Also, Calum Chambers has recovered from his knock and was on the bench on Sunday so Mikel Arteta will surely not be losing sleep due to this fresh injury.
Arteta on Tomiyasu: “Well, he’s done incredibly. We didn’t want to play him, we had to push him. The moment that he knew that [Cedric & Chambers out] he said he would play. He didn’t have any training sessions with us & still was willing to play. I am extremely proud & grateful.” pic.twitter.com/kcZEeesmDV
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) January 21, 2022
After they return from their warm-weather training in Dubai, Arteta will also likely see the return of Cedric who is currently out with a hip injury.
Ben White had a rating of 7.4 out of 10 in the draw but the centre-back offered little in the attacking departments, failing to put in even a single cross and managing only one key pass throughout the game.
The two dropped points mean Arsenal are winless in their previous two league games and are sixth with 36 points from 21 outings.