Premier League injury expert Ben Dinnery says Arsenal’s fine form in the absence of Takehiro Tomiyasu suggests they have no reason to rush the defender back.
The Gunners have been on an upward trajectory since the turn of the new year, and they continue to push towards a top-four finish.
In the absence of the impressive Tomiyasu, Cedric Soares has been getting the job done.
The Portuguese star is not the best right-back at Arsenal, but he has so far filled in well for the club’s first choice.
Ahead of Arsenal’s crunch clash with title challengers, Liverpool, Dinnery insists as long as Arsenal keeps winning, Arteta can wait until Tomiyasu is fully fit before giving him first-team minutes again.
He said to Football Insider: “Arteta is in an amazing place at the moment. They are coming off the back of five straight wins and they’ve won nine out of their last 11.
“Cedric Soares isn’t everyone’s first choice but he is able to do a job in there.
“While they are winning, the pressure eases on Arteta to bring Tomiyasu back. That’s a brilliant luxury to have.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Because of how Tomiyasu plays with a lot of intensity and the willingness to leave it all on the pitch, he needs to be fully fit to participate in matches.
Rushing him back to action could cause even more problems for the former Bologna man.
It would be great to have him back on the pitch soon, but it has to be when he has reached optimum fitness.
Arsenal v Liverpool. – Arteta in confident mood ahead of Liverpool clash.
Unchanged team again.