15 February 2023 , 20:40
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Mikel Arteta was forced to change his preferred Arsenal starting XI for Wednesday night’s top of the table tussle with Manchester City when Thomas Partey was declared unable to participate due to a muscle injury.
The Ghanaian midfielder has been a crucial component of the league leaders’ lineup this term, shielding the back four and making smart passes into his side’s more forward-thinking players. Without the ex-Atletico Madrid man, Arteta turned to Jorginho signed from Chelsea during the January window
But one decision that the Spaniard didn’t have to make, but a change he chose to, was to swap out Ben White at right-back. The England international has been first-choice in that role this term, having been usurped at the heart of defence by William Saliba since the Frenchman’s return from Marseille last summer.
That, in turn, has left Takehiro Tomiyasu largely playing second fiddle - having been the starting full-back for much of the 2021-22 campaign. The Japanese defender had made 16 Premier League outings this term, but completed the 90 minutes only three times - all of those during a stint at left-back back in October.
However, against City, Arteta elected to bring in Tomiyasu for his first start in his preferred position in the league this term. Certainly, Tomiyasu had been excellent as a substitute in Arsenal ’s last home win - the 3-2 victory over Manchester United - after White had struggled against Marcus Rashford. Perhaps that was part of Arteta’s thinking in electing to drop White and call on Tomiyasu to deal with Jack Grealish.
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On Tomiyasu’s four-month wait for a league start being brought to an end, Arteta said pre-match: "Tomi deserves a chance as well. You need to be very adaptable in this game and Tomi has the quality."
Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal speaks with Mikel Arteta (Getty Images)However, with 24 minutes on the clock, perhaps the Spaniard could be forgiven for wondering if he had made a mistake.
A simple ball down the channel, high and bouncing, wasn’t easy for the defender to deal with… under pressure from Grealish, he should have gone safety first and put it into the stand.
Instead, an ill-advised back-pass left Aaron Ramsdale stranded and Kevin de Bruyne produced the perfect finish, lobbing over the advancing goalkeeper and into an empty net.
Certainly, when giving Tomiyasu the nod for his first Premier League start at right-back in 2022-23, it wasn't what Arteta had in mind.