Mikel Arteta has ruled out a January exit for Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich but Standard Sport understands the Gunners have little plans to sell.
Arteta values the player’s versatility after deploying him across the defence this season, with Tomiyasu having appeared in all but one of the club’s 12 Premier League games thus far.
In October, he won the club’s Player of the Month Award and Arteta believes the club "don’t have a player like him”, such is his ability to play across the backline.
Tomiyasu is settled in north London following a £16m move from Bologna in the summer of 2021 and is under contract until 2025.
There is understood to be an option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.
Earlier this season, the Japan international spoke in glowing terms of his happiness at the club.
"I probably speak more in the Arsenal dressing room than I do when I’m with the Japan national team,” he said.
“I’m not the rowdiest person, and they would say that in the national team as well. But it’s good, I feel at home.”
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Brentford on Saturday, Arteta said: “I really want him to stay. I value the player a lot, I really like him.
“I think he's loved and respected by everybody at the club. He's getting a lot of minutes now, he's getting his availability to the level that we need for him to make an impact in the team and I think he will continue to be with us.”
