Report: Staff at Arsenal were convinced ‘world-class’ player was going to join Tottenham

Thu 24 February 2022 8:15, UK

Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

According to a report from, many members of staff at Arsenal believed Takehiro Tomiyasu was going to join Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

The Gunners sealed a £15.5 million deal with Bologna to sign the Japan international on transfer deadline day in August. ()

Tomiyasu has since been incredible for Mikel Arteta. The 23-year-old hit the ground running and has probably had just one bad game in an Arsenal shirt so far.

Arsenal fans are absolutely delighted to have Tomiyasu, but he could easily have been a Spurs player.

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Arsenal staff thought Tomiyasu was going to Tottenham

Before Arsenal even entered into the frame, Tomiyasu was heavily linked with a move to Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspur.

A deal even looked imminent at one point, but Spurs refused to meet Bologna’s asking price and the deal broke down.

Arsenal swooped in on deadline day and got a deal done, but the report claims that many members of Arteta’s staff believed that the Japan international’s move to Tottenham was just a formality.

Spurs ended up signing Emerson Royal in the end, but it’s safe to say that Arsenal got the better deal.

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Tottenham should really be kicking themselves for missing out on Tomiyasu.

Emerson was absolutely outstanding for Real Betis in La Liga and there’s no doubt about the fact that his potential is massive. He can still go on to be a fine player for Tottenham, but he’s just not on the same level as the Arsenal man.

Tomiyasu, branded as ‘, is defensively solid, is very disciplined with respect to his positioning and is not too bad when he bombs forward in attack either.

He has been an exceptional signing for the Gunners and he will only get better in the coming years.