“I want to play football!” - Months after contract termination with Arsenal, Takehiro Tomiyasu cries out for comeback

Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu recently shared a message on his Instagram story. The Japan international's contract at the Emirates was terminated in the summer, and he's been a free agent since.

Tomiyasu joined the Gunners from Bologna for a reported fee of €18.60 million in the summer of 2021. He played in multiple positions in defense and contributed two goals and six assists in 84 games for the north London side. However, he suffered numerous injuries before his contract was mutually terminated in July this year.

Tomiyasu posted a picture of some training cones on a pitch on his Instagram story on Friday, October 10. The Arsenal man wrote in the caption in Japanese:

“I just want to come back soon! I want to play football! That’s all! I’ll do it.”

Takehiro Tomiyasu's Instagram story (Image Source: Instagram/@tomiyasu.t)

Tomiyasu had suffered a knee injury in pre-season in the summer of 2024. He returned in October that year but suffered another injury in that same knee in his first game back. He has been out of action ever since. Tomiyasu missed almost 100 games due to injuries during his time at Arsenal.

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Former Liverpool star defends Arsenal's playing style under Mikel Arteta

The Gunners have competed for the Premier League title in the last three seasons but finished second each time. They are now in the race again and leading the table after seven games this season. However, many fans and pundits have accused Mikel Arteta of adopting an arguably pragmatic playing style, especially in the big games.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, however, has said that he would've done the same thing if he were in Arteta's place. He explained:

"I would play exactly the way they're playing, the way they've come up and they're getting better and better in recent seasons [under Arteta]. I don't really agree with people thinking that they play negative football. They've got a great defence, great goalkeeper and that's probably the strength of their team.

"Some of the other big challengers like Liverpool and Manchester City have got better centre-forwards, maybe better attacking players. The strength of a coach is realising what your strength is and then getting the best out of your team. Mikel Arteta is absolutely doing that."

Arsenal sit one point above Liverpool in the Premier League standings. They have kept four clean sheets, one fewer than Newcastle United, and scored 14 goals, one fewer than Manchester City.