Takehiro Tomiyasu has warned Ben White he isn’t willing to settle for a bit-part role this season at Arsenal after losing his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
The Japan international joined the Gunners from Genoa just over a year ago and quickly established himself as something of a cult hero with a series of combative and composed displays at right-back.
A series of calf injuries saw Tomiyasu struggle to maintain his place during the second half of last season, while he also endured a truncated pre-season campaign.
Tomiyasu’s most recent injury prompted Arteta to field White as a makeshift right-back and the England international has been an ever present in the Premier League since he was selected to fill that role against Crystal Palace in August.
All of Tomiyasu’s appearances this season have come as a substitute, bar the start he made in the recent Europa League win over FC Zurich but the 23-year-old insists he won’t settle for playing second fiddle to White.
He said: ‘What is required in this league is quite high and I’m not satisfied.
‘When you look at the players selected as starters in the premier league games, you will understand what is required to be there. I will work hard in order to get my position back.’
Tomiyasu is currently on international duty with Japan and is set to face his new teammate, USA goalkeeper Matt Turner who himself has endured a difficult start to his Arsenal career.
Speaking about a training ground confrontation with Arteta, Turner said: ‘We were playing a small possession game and it was really, really tight.
‘I tried to make a pass and I gave the ball away. I sort of visually got frustrated and upset and he just came up to me and shoved me.
‘He was basically like, “I don’t want to see that. I don’t like seeing that reaction. I want to see you pick yourself up and keep going”.
‘I think that really set the tone for my mentality within the club and just to keep going no matter what. If you fail, that’s alright.
‘What matters is how you react and not about the failure in itself. That was a really nice moment.’
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