Arsenal were heavily linked with both Emerson Royal and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the summer as they looked for Hector Bellerin’s replacement.
Manager Mikel Arteta eventually opted to sign the Japanese international while Emerson went on to join Tottenham. After assessing the two players’ starts to the season at their respective clubs, fans on Twitter believe that Arteta made the right decision by snapping up Tomiyasu:
We dodged a bullet
— #MENSAHPAADA (@GEORGEM74211173) October 31, 2021
Scouting done right.
— Charles 🇸🇪 (@Charliehanss0n) October 30, 2021
How is he supposed to be better going forward mans played for real betis , damn we dodged a bullet 🤦🏽♂️
— Nightmares (@MusahXi) October 30, 2021
hats off to whoever scouted tomiyasu.tremendous signing
— Ramon Varela (@ramonvarelafsl) October 30, 2021
This decision showed me I know nothing and I accept it.
— Negus Tai-pan💰 (@TapsNC) October 30, 2021
Arteta talent ID is so clear
— 🇲🇦 (@WalotSilt) October 30, 2021
Best decision
— SON OF JACOB ALBUM 💯🇬🇭 (@Rudolph_Oxlade) October 30, 2021
The scouting has been excellent compared to the last few years
— Omair™ (@OmairTweet) October 31, 2021
Emerson has really struggled for Spurs so far and while, it must be said, Tomiyasu isn’t the most technically gifted fullback in the world, he does give the Gunners a lot more solidity on the right-hand side.
The defender is strong in the air, and he is able to play at centre-half if required. The fact that he is only 22 years of age means he is likely to improve in the future as well.
Whether Tomiyasu is the long-term solution, only time will tell, but he is definitely proving to be a much better purchase than Emerson would have been.