Arsenal will look for an immediate return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend following Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, as they missed the opportunity to extend their lead in the top four to four points.
But a positive for Mikel Arteta is that the Gunners managed to come away unscathed from their heavyweight clash with the Reds, leaving the Spaniard with plenty of options ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Aston Villa, with three points an absolute must. However, despite having virtually all of their players available, Arsenal have one injury concern in the form of defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is fighting a race against time to be fit in time for the trip to Villa Park.
Tomiyasu’s unavailability continued against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Wednesday and it now means that the defender has not featured for the Gunners since the New Year’s Day defeat to Manchester City. The Japanese international recovered from his initial thigh problem to feature in the squad against Brentford on February 19, albeit as an unused substitute, before picking up an injury in his other leg shortly afterwards to put him back out of action.
However, Arteta hinted in midweek that the right back could be nearing a return, although whether that will potentially come against the Villains this weekend remains to be seen, with details being fairly vague. Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Arteta said: "There is a chance, but we don’t know. Let’s see today. He had a recurring injury around the same place. After that you have to be very cautious."
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A big indicator over the current situation of Tomiyasu ahead of this weekend is how he has been left out of the Japan squad for their upcoming games with Australia and Vietnam in World Cup qualifying over next week’s international break. Despite the 23-year-old not playing for over two months, it would be assumed that his omission from the national side is due to him not being fit enough to feature, and he will therefore most likely not be included in Arsenal’s squad this weekend.
It would be a great shame if the defender was to miss out again on Saturday, having been such an influential signing in his first campaign at the Emirates Stadium, with his performances earning him plenty of praise. Tomiyasu joined the Gunners from Serie A side Bologna in the summer and has so far made 18 appearances throughout the season, highly impressing in north London as he became a regular in the side before his injury, while he has contributed one assist.
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