Mikel Arteta made a huge decision by selecting Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of Arsenal's clash against Liverpool after Oleksandr Zinchenko was ruled out with a muscle injury.
The Spaniard had a like-for-like replacement waiting in the wings with Kieran Tierney ready to step up in Zinchenko's absence, but Arteta went down a different route.
He chose to play Tomiyasu at left-back instead in an attempt to stop Mohamed Salah and it is a strategy that worked a treat, with the Egyptian drawing a blank for the fourth successive Premier League game.
Tomiyasu performed excellently and did a job on Salah on Liverpool's right, with Trent Alexander-Arnold also unable to enjoy success during his 45 minutes on the pitch. He made the most ground duels (7), most aerial duels (4), most recoveries (7), and most tackles (2) as the Gunners ran out 3-2 winners at the Emirates Stadium.
A brace from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli's strike earned the Gunners a vital three points to move themselves back to the top of the Premier League after nine matches. They have now accumulated 24 points from a possible 27 available and are beginning to believe they could challenge Manchester City for the title.
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But Arteta will take some credit for his decision to play Tomiyasu, who hasn't had regular minutes this season. The 23-year-old made 21 appearances in his maiden Premier League season, with injuries the only reason he wasn't an ever-present. But after struggling for fitness in pre-season, he had found himself relegated to the bench at the start of the campaign, with Ben White playing at right-back.
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Last month, Tomiyasu revealed he was unhappy with his lack of game time but admitted he would work as hard as he could to break back into the Arsenal XI after losing his place. William Saliba's prominence hasn't helped, with the Frenchman partnering Gabriel in central defence.
"What is required in this league is quite high and I'm not satisfied," Tomiyasu said in September. "When you look at the players selected as starters in the Premier League games, you will understand what is required to be there. I will work hard in order to get my position back."
The former Bologna man had only played just over 70 minutes of Premier League football before starting Arsenal's win over Liverpool and Arteta was delighted with the defender's performance.
He said: "Very good, and that’s what we hoped he would do and he exactly did that, to think of doing that against Salah and actually do it is a very different story. He’s done it incredibly well, especially after playing on Thursday and what he’s been through in the last few weeks."
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