Arsenal go into their match with Leeds United with a dilemma. It is Mikel Arteta’s to solve and his side’s to prove his solution was the right one.
The issue I speak of is regarding the selection at left-back after a mighty performance from Takehiro Tomiyasu against Liverpool. Arsenal now have three strong options for a position which used to be occupied by Sead Kolasinac, talk about an upgrade.
Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Tomiyasu are all brilliantly viable options now for Arteta. Although the Ukrainian has suffered from his fair share of muscular injury issues which are likely to keep him out of the weekend trip up north.
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It was in fact the last time Arsenal played Leeds that Arteta tested the idea of using Tomiyasu in the left-back role. The reason for this was the challenge of facing Raphinha, a left-footed right winger who has historically caused Tierney some issues.
The Scot struggled against other inverted wingers like Mohamed Salah in the past. The Japan international’s success against the Brazilian led Arteta to throw Tomiyasu into the fold last weekend and the Egyptian was all but anonymous in the game before going on to score a hat-trick this midweek.
The difference facing Leeds this time is of course Raphinha has since moved on. In his place is American playmaker Brenden Aaronson.
Signed by Jesse Marsch from his former club Red Bull Salzburg, Aaronson has adapted to life in the English topflight very well and despite being very dissimilar to Raphinha, he already has a goal and an assist this season.
A right-footed wide playmaker means that Arteta will know the challenge his left-back will face will not be akin to what Salah provided last weekend. Therefore, playing Tomiyasu in the role might not be the most well-suited idea.
However, looking at the two images below showing the space that Aaronson occupies is similar to that of a wide inverted forward. Playing much closer to the central striker.
Therefore, it could be that Tomiyasu’s inclusion would still make sense despite the absence of the Salah-style opponent. Tierney came out recently to explain both his disappointment and an understanding of the reason behind being dropped against Liverpool.
"I want to play every opportunity that I can, especially in big games," Tierney told Sky Sports. "You want to play; you want that atmosphere.
“There's nothing I could say and then Tomiyasu plays amazing, and the game plan worked, and it just shows you, not many managers would probably think to switch the right back over here, but he did and it came off."
However, you can tell that there is a frustration for him. Being on the bench is not a familiar feeling for Tierney who looked to have nailed down that left-back slot after arriving in 2019 from Celtic.
"I'm learning, I'm dealing with it, but it is tough, football is what I want to play. I worked so hard to get back from injury so you want to play as much as you can as soon as you're back.
“Unfortunately, I've not played too many but every time I get a chance to play, I'm so grateful. I work as hard as I possibly can for the team."
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