Japanese football icon Masami Ihara has delivered his honest verdict on Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The 23-year-old only joined the Gunners from Bologna on transfer deadline day last summer. Mikel Arteta forked out £15.5 million for his signature and the versatile defender is proving to be an incredible bargain.
Tomiyasu has played 15 times in the Premier League for Arsenal so far and has been brilliant. The Gunners have lost just thrice with the Japan international in the side and he is now the undisputed number one right-back at the club.
Ihara, who was Japan’s first-ever captain at a World Cup, has been keeping an eye on Tomiyasu and he has been impressed.
Masami Ihara: Arsenal star Tomiyasu can become ‘the wall of the world’
The Japanese icon told The Japan Times: “No way I imagined it (Tomiyasu’s rise to fame). He played on either side of a three-man defence at Fukuoka before playing in the centre toward the end. His running ability was outstanding.
“His quality in the final third is improving too (at Arsenal). He’s playing centre-back when he’s back with the national team, I reckon it’s really difficult to make that switch inside his head but I’m amazed he’s doing it nonchalantly.
“Tomiyasu has the potential to be the ‘Wall of the World,’ one of the top defenders around. I hope he wins the daily battles at his tough, competitive club and brings what he learns back to the national team.”
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TBR View:
Tomiyasu’s potential is massive. The Japan international has been outstanding for Arsenal since his arrival and the fact that he’s still only 23 means that he’ll become even better.
The ex-Bologna man is hugely versatile as well. Arsenal fans have only seen him at right-back, but Tomiyasu is capable of slotting in at centre-half, left-back and if the need arises, in central midfield too.
The Japan international really suits Arteta’s system and he’s the perfect man for Arsenal at the moment. It will be interesting to see how much better he will be in a few years time. His mentor, Ihara, feels he can be among the best in the world, and there’s no reason why he can’t.
