Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made a huge call in picking his team to face Liverpool on Sunday in what is a huge clash for the Gunners. They will be hoping to return to the top of the league with victory at the Emirates against the visitors, who are struggling for form so far this season.
Despite that, there have been plenty of warnings for Arteta ahead of the game, with lots of quality still present in Jurgen Klopp's team. One of the main debates the Spaniard has had before the game is his choice of left-back, with debate surrounding the choice of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney starting there.
The manager has thrown a curveball though, choosing Takehiro Tomiyasu to play there - with Tierney on the bench and Zinchenko not in the matchday squad. The Japan international is usually played as a right-back, but has been deployed as a left-back before in his time at the club.
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Discussing the versatility of Tomiyasu last month, Arteta said: "Tomi has been playing left centre-back for his national team, Japan. When you look at the games, he can play as a left back too, because you cannot tell me if he’s a left or right-footed player.
“So we have the options there, and we have to utilise them in the best possible way. Especially with the number of minutes we are going to have in the next few weeks, and it’s great that players are comfortable doing more than one position.”
It's a big call to make, with the defender receiving few minutes so far and being thrown on the opposite flank against a dangerous player in Mohamed Salah. It's led to Arsenal fans questioning the decision not to start teammate Tierney instead on social media.
@TylerAFC__: "Why play Tomiyasu out of position when Tierney is available?"
@Viqforlan: "Why’s Tomiyasu at LB with Tierney on the bench?"
@Afc_Seann: "Why is Tierney on the bench?"
@DashOfBellerin: "Kinda weird that Tomi will be LB when there’s Tierney on bench. Also what happened to Zinchenko?"
@AtrajitRoy84: "Tomi at LB against Salah? Let's hope we survive this."
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