Ben White has lavished praise on Takehiro Tomiyasu and says that the Arsenal defender is the best right-back he’s ever played with.
Tomiyasu has made an excellent start to life at Arsenal since having joined the Gunners from Italian side Bologna in the summer transfer window.
The 23-year-old has been a regular fixture at right-back for Mikel Arteta’s men and has made 16 starts in the Premier League for the north London side.
Tomiyasu has been earning lots of new admirers for his bright performances for the Gunners in recent weeks and he has quickly established himself as one of the key figures in Arteta’s Arsenal team this season.
White, who also joined Arsenal in the summer transfer window, has now admitted that it is an “honour” to line up alongside Tomiyasu and says he has been thrilled to link up with the Japan international at The Emirates.
“Tomi is amazing. He’s the best right-back I’ve ever played with. He’s always focused. It’s an honour to play next to him,” White told DAZN Japan.
“Tomi does the simple things at a world-class level. He is very alert and he isn’t careless in games.
“From the beginning he’s completely understood English and speaks as well as I do.”
Tomiyasu made his senior Japan debut back in 2018 and has notched up 28 appearances for his country since then.
The Japanese defender missed Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round on Sunday night due to injury and Arteta confirmed after the game that he was not sure whether the full-back would be fit for the trip to Liverpool FC in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Thursday night.
Asked on if Emile Smith Rowe and Tomiyasu will be in contention to play on Thursday, Arteta said on Sunday evening: “Again, it depends. They were injured and they couldn’t play. Gabi [Gabriel] was suspended. I’ll have to see in the next few days how they were.”
Arsenal’s next Premier League game is a north London derby showdown away from home against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.