Mikel Arteta believes Takehiro Tomiyasu’s injury is ‘not looking good’ as Arsenal continue to assess the defender’s injury situation.
Arteta racked up yet another win this afternoon as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka bagged a brace for Arsenal with Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka also on the scoresheet.
Arsenal have gone eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and have moved another step closer to the title.
The Gunners claimed this win despite both William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu being out through injury.
That means Rob Holding stepped in and performed admirably, but there is still some concern over the situation surrounding Tomiyasu.
Takehiro Tomiyasu injury ‘not looking good’ for Arsenal
Tomiyasu started against Sporting in the Europa League on Thursday night.
However, the Japanese defender lasted just nine minutes before being replaced by Ben White.
Tomiyasu appeared to suffer a muscle injury going in for a challenge with Sporting ace Francisco Trincao.
The £16million signing from Bologna wasn’t in the squad against Palace today and may be out for a while.
Speaking to Football London after the final whistle, Arteta admitted that he still doesn’t know how long Tomiyasu will miss.
Arteta claims one doctor assessment has come in but Arsenal want another verdict on Monday before predicting a recovery time for Tomiyasu.
Arteta added that the situation is ‘not looking good’ as Tomiyasu doesn’t exaggerate injuries, leaving Arteta and Arsenal ‘concerned’ about his injury.
“We don’t know. The doctor is assessing,” said Arteta. “We have one assessment and I think they need to have another assessment tomorrow. It’s not looking good. Tomi is not one to exaggerate things. He was really concerned straight away and we are concerned,” he added.
A versatile defender who can play across the back four, Tomiyasu represents a vital squad option for Arteta and Arsenal.
The hope is that Tomiyasu can recover and return from injury soon, but Arsenal may well be without the defender for the rest of their title chase in a real blow for the Gunners.
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