3 standout players from Arsenal’s vital Champions League win

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Takehiro Tomiyasu was brought in to replace Oleksander Zinchenko, who has had a few poor games. He slotted in perfectly: imperious in defence and neat and tidy in attack.

He seemingly has license to go anywhere on the pitch as he popped up in the unlikeliest of positions, including striker at one point. He did it very well, offering something different to Zinchenko’s inversion. Tomi does still invert but in a different way.

It was the culmination of a few performances that have shown that Tomiyasu really adds a different dimension to Arsenal’s defence. More comfortable defending than the Ukrainian, Arsenal sacrifices a bit of midfield control for more defensive security. When Jorginho is playing especially, Tomi makes more sense in that left-back role.

Hopefully, he builds on these performances going forward, as he is a very useful and versatile defender.