Tomiyasu & White not linked on the pitch

Arsenal right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu reflected on the tactical situation on the pitch in Mikel Arteta’s back-four when he commented on the fact that fellow summer acquisition Ben White does not pass to him often during matches.

Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu details why fellow defender Ben White does not pass to him often

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 06: Ben Godfrey of Everton battles for possession with Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park on December 06, 2021 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

The Daily Mail reported that this was hardly a criticism by Tomiyasu on his Arsenal teammate, but rather, a reflection of his understanding of what it means to put his teammates into a position of strength as the club continues to play out of the back under their Spanish headmaster.

“It is because Ben White is a good player. Often, passes from the centre back to the full-backs become ‘pressure passes. I play centre back too, and simple passes to the full-backs are actually the last option I consider. If the full-back is not under opposition pressure I will play the pass, but if the winger is right in front, you’ll end up caught by the press.

So Ben White is a good player who doesn’t play passes that put you under pressure.”

New defensive pair have settled well at Arsenal

Now that Takehiro Tomiyasu has cleared that up, an enormous amount of credit should be laid at the feet of both he and Ben White after the duo have made a fantastic start to their Arsenal careers this season, arriving from Bologna and Brighton respectively.

Both signings received a fair degree of criticism, however, with many suggesting that the £50million splashed for White was poor business at the time; a notion that has been disavowed.

As for Tomiyasu, much of the criticism around him came from the point of ignorance, especially when Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol suggested live on air that the agent of the Japanese international cast doubt about his client’s ability to survive in the Premier League.

Safe to say, that too has been proven to be wildly incorrect.