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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has showered praise on Japanese right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Tomiyasu was recently announced as the club's Player of the Month for September after some stellar performances during the month. The defender, who joined Arsenal on deadline day this summer, has had a tremendous impact since arriving about a month ago.
Tomiyasu starred in the Gunners' three wins and a draw from their four league games in September. The 22-year-old also helped Mikel Arteta's side keep three clean sheets in the process. Tomiyasu has added extra dynamism to the Arsenal team. He has both marauded forward and locked down the left flank equally well.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has praised Tomiyasu following his Player of the Month win. Speaking to the club's media team (via The Boot Room), the Spanish tactician said about Tomiyasu:
“I’m very impressed; he has done it in a really natural way. It puts a smile on your face when you look at him, for how he communicates, how he is.”
Arteta also believes Tomiyasu works extremely hard on his game, and has tremendous self-belief. He also revealed that the Japanese international is excited to be at the Emirates. Arteta said:
“He is so excited, you can see that for him it is a dream to be here, and he is doing it in the right manner. With the passion but with the right commitment, and as well with the right amount of self assurance that he is capable of doing it.”
Arsenal's summer rebuild beginning to pay off
Arsenal made the headlines during the summer for spending around £150 million in an extensive squad overhaul. The Gunners brought in the likes of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard and Takehiro Tomiyasu, among others, in a bid to freshen up their squad.
Mikel Arteta's side quickly became the subject of ridicule, though, as they began the season poorly. The Gunners lost their first Premier League match 2-0 at newly-promoted Brentford. Arsenal then fell again on Matchday 2, losing by the same margin to rivals Chelsea.
The North London outfit were thoroughly shellacked by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, losing 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, in their next game. The result left Arteta's side at the bottom of the table. However, the last few weeks have seen the Gunners recover some ground in the English top flight, thanks to the return of key players from injury and sickness.
Arsenal recorded a 1-0 victory over Norwich City for their first points of the season before triumphing by the same scoreline at Turf Moor against Burnley. They then played arguably their best football of the season when they crushed Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the North London derby.
The Gunners' most recent result, a 0-0 draw with Brighton right before the international break, has lifted them up to 11th in the Premier League table. With ten points, they are just four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
