I played for the Barcelona academy and 'transformed' Arsenal's defence, now I can't find a club aged 26

If you rewind back to the the 2021/22 season, things were very different for Arsenal. It felt like the start of something new. The Mikel Arteta project was finally beginning to come together, the club appeared to all be moving in the same direction, and this was led by a series of exciting young, talented players ready to live out the best years of their careers at the Emirates. Firmly among these was Japanese full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu.

When a 22-year-old Tomiyasu completed a deadline-day move to Arsenal on 31 August 2021, he came with substantial pedigree. He was also a relative bargain, signing from Bologna for just £19.8million. The right-back slot had been a problem one for the Gunners in seasons prior and Tomiyasu came in with only one objective - to make it his own.

Four years and just 36 Premier League starts later, Tomiyasu finds himself without a club after seeing his contract at Arsenal terminated nearly three months ago. So where did it all go wrong?

What happened to Takehiro Tomiyasu at Arsenal?

For anyone who follows Tomiyasu or Arsenal closely, the simple one-word answer to this question is obvious. What many have begun to forget, though, is just how much of a promising player Tomiyasu was at the Emirates before his recurring injuries began to hit.

Tomiyasu adapted to the Premier League with ease in his first season at the club. Slotting straight in at right-back, the Japanese international starred as the Gunners won seven matches in ten to rise from 20th up to 5th in the league. He had started every Premier League match and barely missed a minute when the injury issues began to hit in late December.

First, he was substituted with a muscle injury against Leeds United. Missing one match, it was no catastrophe. But before he knew it, one appearance later and Tomiyasu would spend four months on the sidelines thanks to two separate injuries.

That first season would prove to be as good as it ever got for Tomiyasu at the Emirates. Never making more than 22 Premier League appearances in a season, recurring calf and knee injuries meant that he was never too far away from the treatment table.

Football.London’s review of Tomiyasu’s debut season for the Gunners said it all.

“Probably Arsenal's signing of the summer - and there's plenty of competition in that department. Defensively immaculate and technically excellent he instantly transformed the right back position from one of weakness into one of strength. Sadly injuries prohibited him from scoring higher and the Gunners will be hopeful his muscle problems are behind him. 8/10”, they said.

The emergence of Ben White as a converted right-back in 2022/23 meant Tomiyasu had to bide his time on the substitutes’ bench. Following another major set-back for knee surgery, Tomiyasu returned the next season to show his versatility as much as ever. He started at left-back in the run-in as the Gunners missed out on the title by just two points in 2023/24. But by last season, he was practically anonymous. Playing just six minutes of football, Tomiyasu gave in to renewed injury problems and had a second knee surgery in just a couple of years.

In July, still out injured and with a year left on his contract, Tomiyasu and Arsenal mutually agreed it was in everyone’s best interests to part ways. A promising but ultimately frustrating Emirates career, therefore, was over. Tomiyasu was left out in the cold, wondering what to do next.

Tomiyasu’s Arsenal career could have been very different

Tomiyasu was far more than a deadline-day panic buy when he arrived at Arsenal. He was a player viewed as having the potential to go far at the club.

Formerly on the books of Barcelona as a child, Tomiyasu played for Barca’s Escola Fukuoka academy in Japan for two years. Talks of joining up with the club’s main La Masia set-up in Spain did not quite materialise, as he joined Avispa Fukuoka instead. Successful spells at Sint-Truiden in Belgium and then Bologna followed, before a 22-year-old Tomiyasu made the step to the Premier League.

In addition to his Barcelona tutelage, Tomiyasu boasted a strong international pedigree, too. With 23 Japan caps already on his arrival in north London, Tomiyasu had captained his nation in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final aged 20. Starting at both full-back and centre-back, he was a versatile and trusted member of the Samurai Blue side. He was hardly injury-prone at the time, either - he had missed just seven Serie A games through injury in his final year at Bologna and eight the season prior.

What next for Tomiyasu?

So what next for Tomiyasu? Firstly, he has to get himself back fit once again, after his latest knee surgery in February. There is no guarantee when that will be, though he will no doubt be targeting a return before the end of the year.

AC Milan have previously been reported as ‘monitoring’ the free agent ahead of a potential return to Serie A, while newly-promoted La Liga club Real Oviedo are also considering a swoop as per Fichajes.

One would hope that the offers come flooding in once it is known that the former Gunner is fully fit once again. At 26 years old, Tomiyasu still has the majority of his career left ahead of him. The hope will be that he can make up for the years he has lost, get back out on the pitch, and rediscover his best form once again.