Takehiro Tomiyasu posts heartbreaking message three months after Arsenal terminated his contract
Arsenal terminated Takehiro Tomiyasu’s contract and released him from the club.
The Japan international became a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium following his move from Bologna in the summer of 2021.
Tomiyasu was a valuable member of the squad and offered options across the backline. He also produced a few exceptional performances and earned a lot of praise.
But injuries ruined his Arsenal career.
Former Arsenal star Takehiro Tomiyasu posts a heartbreaking message
Takehiro Tomiyasu is a manager’s dream.
The Japanese defender can play in every single position in the backline. He reads the game well, is good in the air and exceptional in 1v1 situations.
Tomiyasu is comfortable with both feet as well, which is a very rare trait for a defender.
Sadly, those abilities couldn’t be used consistently because injuries kept troubling him throughout his career at the Emirates.
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Tomiyasu suffered a knee injury in the preseason of 2024. He spent three months on the sidelines and returned in October.
However, in his first appearance back, he hurt that knee again and has been out of action since – it has been over a year.
Arsenal came to an agreement with Tomiyasu in July to terminate his contract, and the defender has been a free agent since.
Still not fully fit, the former Bologna man took to Instagram Stories to share a post that will make every Gooner sad.
“I just want to come back soon! I want to play football! That’s all! I’ll do it,” he wrote along with a picture of a few training cones on the pitch.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s injury record at Arsenal
Tomiyasu spent four full seasons on Arsenal’s books, but he played just 84 games in all competitions.
The versatile defender suffered from a total of eight different problems, all of which kept him out of the team for significant periods.
InjuryGames missedDays missedCalf injury1161Muscular injury413Knee injury16108Calf injury628Calf injury745Knee injury974Knee injury29136Knee surgert19225Credit: Transfermarkt
Tomiyasu missed 101 games and 690 days of football, and counting, since he joined Arsenal, which is a horrific record.
It is such a shame that injuries have stopped him from doing what he loves. Hopefully, he returns to full fitness and finds a club because he can be a top-class player when he’s fully fit.
