Mikel Arteta transfer decision backfires as injury exposes major Arsenal weakness
Arsenal have been dealt a major blow with the news that Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the rest of the season with the injury he sustained while exiting the Europa League
The loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury could see Arsenal regret their decision to loan right-back Cedric Soares on loan in January.
Japan international Tomiyasu suffered a knee problem when the Gunners were eliminated from the Europa League by Sporting CP at the end of the season. After being without the defender in a win against Crystal Palace on Sunday, they confirmed he will miss the rest of the season.
While Ben White’s form has made Tomiyasu’s absence manageable, the lack of coverage could become an issue at a crucial stage of the season. As Mikel Arteta prepares his side for 10 big league games, he’s hoping Cedric’s avoidable loss won’t be too much of a problem.
To make matters worse for Arsenal, Cedric has barely played for Fulham. The Portugal international has mostly played as a substitute for Kenny Tete in west London, starting just one game for Marco Silva’s side.
In the league, meanwhile, the former Southampton man was handed late runouts off the bench against Nottingham Forest and Brentford. He remained on the bench against Brighton and Wolves and was ineligible to play when Fulham played their parent club.
Arsenal strengthened their defensive ranks with Jakub Kiwior in January. However, the Poland centre-back is left-footed and has not been known to intervene on the right.
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“Following his substitution during last Thursday’s Europa League game, subsequent investigations have confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu sustained a serious injury to his right knee,” Arsenal said in a statement.
“Tomi underwent successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be out for the rest of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi to get him into pre-season training ahead of next season.”
Arsenal are eight points clear of Manchester City after beating Crystal Palace on Sunday and centre-back William Saliba is also absent from the squad after picking up an injury of his own against Sporting. However, while the Gunners have 10 games left, City have 11.
The top two in the league will meet at the Etihad Stadium on April 26, with reigning champions City looking to complete a league double against Arsenal after a 3-1 win in north London. Arsenal have to travel to Liverpool ahead of this clash and face relegation-threatened trio Leeds, West Ham and Southampton.
“I’m really happy. I’m really satisfied with the way we started the game,” said Arteta after the last win.
“I was very happy with how they reacted on Thursday. So I’m very happy to play like we did after 120 minutes and after losing two great players.”