Pain in the Arsenal
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3 standout players from Arsenal’s vital Champions League win

By William Upton

SEVILLE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 24: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
SEVILLE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 24: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) /
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SEVILLE, SPAIN – OCTOBER 24: Dodi Lukebakio right winger of Sevilla and Belgium and Takehiro Tomiyasu Right-Back of Arsenal and Japan during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
SEVILLE, SPAIN – OCTOBER 24: Dodi Lukebakio right winger of Sevilla and Belgium and Takehiro Tomiyasu Right-Back of Arsenal and Japan during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images) /

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.

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