Southampton FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Andrea Berta has made a decision on the future of Takehiro Tomiyasu (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to leave the club by mutual consent after agreeing to a termination of his contract.
The Japan international has been a bastion of dependability whenever called up on by Mikel Arteta following his move from Bologna four years ago.
Able to play with comfort in any position across the backline, Tomiyasu’s versatility proved vital to Arteta over various points of his Gunners career.
Sadly for the 26-year-old, a series of debilitating injuries have robbed him of potentially the peak years of his career.
Indeed, Tomiyasu made just one solitary appearance last season as a late substitute against Southampton back in October.
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It transpired that a player who spent most of his time at Arsenal at full-back had suffered a second serious knee ligament injury.
Tomiyasu’s deal had been due to expire at the end of next season but the player and club have come to an agreement and he will leave immediately by mutual consent.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has undergone knee surgery (Picture: Instagram)
Speaking about his latest setback, after a period of silence, Tomiyasu said in February: ‘I’ve had a surgery on my knee few days ago.
‘I’ve already started my rehab to do what I love the most again.
‘It has been the toughest period in my career for sure and it carries on a bit more but I won’t give up.
Arsenal FC v Southampton FC - Premier League
Takehiro Tomiyasu only played just six minutes of football last season for Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
‘Thank you for your support and see you again.’
Despite appearing to be well stocked in defence Arsenal are adding to look to their rearguard this summer.
An opening bid for Valencia’s Cristhian Mosquera was knocked back earlier this week but Arsenal are expected to return with an improved offer.
Kieran Tierney, meanwhile, has already left to rejoin Celtic and Oleksandr Zinchenko could depart amid interest from several Premier League clubs.
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