Tomiyasu on Everton, milestones and recovery | Interview | News

Takehiro Tomiyasu believes that to beat Everton on Wednesday night we have to be prepared to make a change – mentally and physically.

The Japanese defender came off the bench at Goodison Park just over three weeks ago as the Toffees clinched a 1-0 win in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge, but Tomi feels lessons have been learned since then.

He reveals that Mikel Arteta was unhappy to see his team cover less ground than their Merseyside opponents, and he believes it won’t happen again when Dyche brings his team to north London with three vital Premier League points for both sides in game.

Analyzing the previous meeting, Tomi said: “We learned many things, the biggest one was that we ran less than them. After the game, Mikel told us that we had to run a lot, so first of all we have to outrun them. So we have to compete and focus on the basics.

“That game they changed the coach and it was his first game for them so now we know what they want to do. They like to fight, they like to run and they really want to put the ball in the area, so we have to defend our area.

“We have to prepare well and be ready for the fight, because we have to add the three points.”

If he plays at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, the defender will mark his 50th appearance for Arsenal in the process.

It’s a stat that has crept up on him and taken him by surprise, but he is thrilled to be closing in on his first goalscorer milestone, even as he saw opportunities to increase his tally in his second campaign. in the club.

“I didn’t know, it came so fast!” he responded to the news. “It’s special for me because Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’m happy to play for this club.

“When you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, there is great competition all the time and Ben White has been playing really well, so I just have to be patient. When I play, I give everything for the team, so I always need to be ready.

“When I got here, I didn’t know what to do for the team because I didn’t know how Mikel wanted me to play, but now I understand. I hope I’m better than when I got here!”

The 24-year-old is part of our team’s core of youth, all developing together and enjoying the challenge of improving collectively and individually. This helped create a strong team spirit, which came to the fore when Tomi flicked a back pass against Manchester City that allowed Kevin de Bruyne to open the scoring.

Immediately, he was encouraged to move on and forget about it by his teammates, and Tomi believes their support was hugely beneficial in helping him get through this and using this setback as motivation to keep improving.

“We’re a young team and I feel like I’m part of the family,” he said. “I remember the Manchester City game at home, I made a mistake and gave them the first goal, but after that everyone came up to me and just told me to keep my head up. They helped me a lot.

“Unfortunately we didn’t manage to win the game, but then I said to myself that this game has to be a process. I need to learn from the mistake and I need to recover because it’s over now. I needed to be positive and they helped me.”

In addition to the support of his teammates, Tomi was touched by the reaction of the Emirates fans, who chanted his name in an attempt to forgive him.

He admits he is enjoying playing in the atmosphere generated by our fans this season and looks forward to experiencing it again against Everton as we aim to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

“It’s going to be an important game for us, but we’re playing at home, where our fans support us, so we have to win,” he added.

“The atmosphere is even better (than last season), especially after we conceded a goal and the crowd gets more excited. Normally, when you concede a goal at home, the crowd drops, but when you play at Emirates, the crowd is the opposite.

“Our fans are incredible and give us a lot of energy all the time. They are top! I’m really excited to play in front of them at home, but the most important thing is to get the three points, that’s what we’re going to focus on.”