Mikel Arteta is keen to resolve the long-term future of Takehiro Tomiyasu amid interest from Bayern Munich.
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The Japan international is enjoying his best season in an Arsenal shirt since his move from Bologna two-and-a-half years ago.
Tomiyasu’s versatility has proven to be a key asset for his manager this season, especially given the long-term absence of summer signing Jurrien Timber.
The 25-year-old has featured predominantly at full-back, where he is comfortable on either flank, but also produced an accomplished display at centre-half in a Carabao Cup win at Brentford, while he has also excelled for his country.
Tomiyasu has 18 months left on his current deal and Arsenal have an option to extend by a further 12 months but are keen to commence talks on a long-term contract that would reward a key squad player with a significant pay rise.
According to The Telegraph, Bayern and their manager Thomas Tuchel are keen admirers of Tomiyasu and are on the lookout for a defender capable of playing in multiple positions.
Arteta spoke recently, however, of his admiration of a player who has never let him down, despite rarely being an automatic starter.
‘Yeah, he (Tomiyasu) was terrific in Seville,’ Arteta said last month. ‘I think he played a really, really good game when he came on against Chelsea as well.
‘Tomi is a player that everybody loves in there. He’s always the first (in training) and he’s always the last out. You tell him to do something and he will give his life for it.
‘He’s an exceptionally professional player who gives us a versatility and qualities that nobody else has in the squad. For me he’s a really important player.”
When asked to explain the value of his versatility, Arteta was keen to stress how difficult being truly ‘versatile’ is at the highest level.
‘Every game has a different story and that means you need versatile players to occupy different positions when needed, that are actually comfortable.
‘That’s something 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.
‘It’s challenging because you lack familiarity and physically the demands are difficult, but Tomi always adapts to this in a really natural way.’
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