Three Serie A clubs 'battle' for £25m Arsenal star who has 'improved a lot'


One Arsenal star is said to be attracting plenty of attention ahead of the January transfer window despite having been stuck on the sidelines over recent times. The Gunners managed to trim their squad significantly over the summer, protecting themselves against the Premier League’s strict financial rules.
Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe were all sold, while Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lokonga and others were loaned out. Aside from Kieran Tierney, there aren’t many more who are candidates to move on in the January transfer window, but according to a fresh report from The Sun, Takehiro Tomiyasuu is now attracting attention.
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Hide AdTomiyasu is currently out injured, but according to the report, Inter Milan are leading the race to sign the 25-year-old full-back. Juventus and Napoli are also said to be interested in a deal, but the latter may struggle to pull off a deal after missing out on an upront fee for Victor Osimhen, though that could change in January.
Tomiyasu might struggle to get regular starts ahead of Ben While when he does return from injury, and it will be interesting to see if he can be persuaded to move on, while Arteta would be losing key depth mid-way through the season.
As things stand, the Japan international remains sidelined and will be out for a few weeks yet. “I think it will take weeks on that one, unfortunately, and poor Tomi because of everything that he does,” Arteta said in August. “But he’s going to have to be patient and work through it because I think it’s going to take a few weeks.”
Tomiyasu is under contract with Arsenal until 2026, and speaking to the club website back in March when he extended his deal, he made it clear that he is happy at the Emirates Stadium. “I am so happy to extend my contract because Arsenal is the best club in the world. It’s a dream to play for this club, so I’m happy,” he said.
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Hide Ad“When I'm on the pitch I feel the love and energy from the supporters. We are connected a lot so I want to give them something back. I am playing for Arsenal, and this means I'm playing for the Arsenal supporters. That's why I dedicate my life to this club and the supporters. I want to give them something back. The connection between players and supporters is a different level and that makes it more special.”
Improving under Arteta
Tomiyasu also believes that he has improved during his time working with Arteta. He added: “I think we have improved a lot because when I joined, we were not playing in a European competition but now we are playing in the Champions League and we are in the title race. Hopefully I am better than before! I am still learning a lot of things from Mikel and my teammates. I still have the capacity to improve so I will try to be a better player and also a better person as well.
“We've got so many great players. I’m playing as a full-back at Arsenal but when I’m playing with the national team I am playing at centre-half so I am learning from the Arsenal defenders. They’re so good, there's a big competition between the players but it’s a good environment to be a better player so I’m happy to be here. I am not young any more! When you’re playing at Arsenal we’ve got a lot of young players and I’m getting older! I want to achieve something with my teammates and the supporters.”
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