Arteta's aggressive approach: how starting Tomiyasu won Arsenal the game vs Liverpool

Mikel Arteta’s team tactics against Liverpool were different from what Arsenal fans have come to expect this season. Liverpool’s more offensive-minded approach saw Arteta choose to replace an injured Oleksandr Zinchenko with Takehiro Tomiyasu, instead of Kieran Tierney.

The choice saw Tomiyasu lock down Mohammed Salah’s attacking antics and help give the home team another layer of defensive solidarity to the team, with Arsenal returning to the top of the table off the back of a 3-2 win. There was so much more to this performance than simply saying ‘Tomiyasu is better defensively and that’s why he did well’ – let’s look at them now.

The main change that Tomiyasu brought to the team was the defensive structure. Arsenal were extremely brave in the way that they set up both with and without the ball. The Gunners essentially used a back three in possession, consisting of William Saliba, Gabriel and Tomiyasu. This would see Arsenal attack in a 3-2-5, with Partey and Xhaka playing in a double pivot whilst Ben White played slightly further up the pitch. Tomiyasu’s addition at the back allowed Ben White to be the more attacking full back, overlapping Bukayo Saka multiple times in order to alleviate some of the pressure from the Liverpool defence who constantly looked to double team him.

The back three often played in a flat line in one of the bravest defensive displays the league has seen this season. Liverpool’s front four (Diaz, Jota, Nunez and Salah) lined up in the gaps, creating an immediate 3v4 in the Reds’ favour. Arsenal’s press in the meantime forced Liverpool to look for balls over the top, almost encouraging Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk to play to their passing strengths. Arsenal then trusted themselves to deal with the threat of these through balls, standing strong apart from a Gabriel mistake leading to Liverpool’s opener.

Whenever Tomiyasu was caught out of position, Granit Xhaka would drop in to fill the void. Many times early on in the match, Xhaka would drop in regardless to create a back five.

On his side of the back three, Tomiyasu shut down Salah completely. He headed out any lobbed balls meant for the Egyptian and did so with great accuracy as well. The Japanese national also did the dirty work when the ball was on the ground. Salah was eventually taken off in the 69th minute as Liverpool opted for more defensive solidarity.

Whilst in possession, Tomiyasu proved to be a prolific player as well. Multiple times he combined with Gabriel Martinelli with great efficiency, also giving him the freedom to torment Trent and Joe Gomez respectfully, leading to a goal and an assist to contribute to a Man Of The Match performance from the Brazilian winger.

This triumph at the Emirates has cemented Tomiyasu as the team’s defensive Swiss army knife, putting in a shift at left back, center back and right back. With this being the case, Gunners fans can expect Arteta to give Tomiyasu many more chances in the starting line-up, especially after the World Cup.