Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu suffers calf injury, out for “a while”

• Takehiro Tomiyasu suffered a calf injury during the Wolves match.
• The injury is expected to keep him out for an extended period of time.
• It was a blow for Arsenal as they chased the Premier League title.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Arsenal’s in-form full-back, sustained a calf injury during the weekend’s Premier League encounter against Wolves, which will keep him out for some time, according to head coach Mikel Arteta of the club.

The Japanese international has been playing excellently, but Arteta and his team will undoubtedly feel his absence as the Gunners pursue the championship for a record-tying second year.

Tomiyasu was absent from Arsenal’s Tuesday, December 5, trip to Luton Town, where Arteta’s team triumphed 4-3 in a thrilling seven-goal thriller thanks to Declan Rice’s goal in the 97th minute.

When questioned about Tomiyasu prior to the game, Arteta said, “We took him off as a precaution so we’ll wait. He’s a strong boy and hopefully he’ll be fine.”

After the game, the Spaniard informed the reporters that the Japanese football player’s scan results were not good and that he would be sidelined for some time.

“We had a scan and it’s not good news,” Arteta said. “He’s got an injury in his calf and he’s going to be out for a while.”

Arsenal’s victory on the road puts them five points clear atop the league standings; Liverpool can close the deficit to two points with a victory over Sheffield United on Wednesday.

Arteta continued, “I really enjoyed it, especially the end,” in reference to the game versus Luton.

“It’s the incredible thing about football, emotions and the moments that you live together. It was a special night.

“Credit to Luton for the incredible atmosphere that they created and the way they played. They made life really difficult for us. But we found a way to win. The resilience and the the character and the quality showed.”

He also discussed the demanding schedule, which requires the players to play a match every three days.

“Playing every three days, and we have to win every game, the demands are there. It’s the way (the players) go about it, how much they want it.

“Today we conceded some goals we’ll be disappointed with. That’s part of it as well, it’s going to happen. It’s how we react to that.”

Arteta continued: “We don’t want to draw, we want to win. That drive, that energy, that risk and that emotion we put in the pitch, you can sense it.

“We should have scored before with the chances that we had. We didn’t, but we tried until the end and we got rewarded.”

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