Mikel Arteta has described Takehiro Tomiyasu as a perfect professional whose versatility solves plenty of problems for him at Arsenal.
Asked about the impact of the Japanese lately, he said: "He was terrific in Seville, I think he played a really good game when he came on against Chelsea as well.
"He’s a player that everybody loves in there, he’s always the first and always the last. You tell him to do something, and he will give his life for it.
"He’s an exceptional professional player, and he gives us versatility and qualities that nobody else has in the squad, For me, he’s a very important player. Tomi adapts to it in a really natural way so it’s so good to have him."
Tomi started at left-back against Sevilla but the defender is suited to playing anywhere across the back. Arteta finds this versatility very useful.
He added: "Well, we had six or seven players in the last line-up, that’s not enough. Then that means that you need to have versatile players to occupy different positions, and they need to be comfortable.
"That’s something that’s tricky because you start to train a player every single day in a different position, but then you demand him to play in a specific role, that’s challenging.
"Sometimes it's difficult, because they don’t have the relationship and the physical demands are difficult. Tomi adapts to it in a really natural way so it’s so good to have him."
Should Tomiyasu feature against Sheffield United, it will be his 50th Premier League appearance.
