Injury-plagued ex-Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu finally set to return to football after finding new club following Gunners exit

Tomiyasu left Arsenal after four years, having played just six minutes of football in the 2024-25 season due to knee surgery. At the time of his release, the defender was not expected to return to full fitness for another five months. The club mutually agreed with the 26-year-old to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in 2026.

The official statement from the Gunners had read: "We have reached a mutual agreement with Takehiro Tomiyasu to end his contract with immediate effect. The 26-year-old defender, who joined us from Bologna in August 2021, made 84 appearances in all competitions during his time with the club. Unfortunately, injuries have limited Tomi’s time on the pitch in the past two seasons, with the defender making just one substitute appearance last season. It was therefore mutually agreed to end Tomi’s contract in order for him to start a new chapter in his career. Everyone at Arsenal Football Club would like to thank Tomi for his contribution to the club and we wish him and his family all the best for the future."

According to Fabrizio Romano, Tomiyasu has now verbally agreed to join Dutch giants Ajax on a short-term deal, which will be valid until 2026. The ex-Gunners will undergo a medical on Tuesday at the Eedivisie side and if all goes well for the player, he will put pen to paper in the next few days.

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Known as a reliable performer and strong defender, Tomiyasu has not been able to stay consistently fit in the last few years and this had curtailed his time in north London. Tomiyasu, who is used to playing at the right-back position, has featured across the back line for the Gunners. 

But with the emergence of the likes of Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly as full-backs since last season, in addition to Tomiyasu's former right-back competitor Ben White still amongst the ranks, Mikel Arteta might have felt that his squad had moved on in Tomiyasu's extended absence. Therefore, the Japanese full-back's departure was always on the cards.

While Arsenal continue to lead the Premier League title race and are two points clear of Manchester City in the table, their performance in recent matches has dipped after starting the 2025-26 season in red-hot form. On Saturday, the Gunners picked up a hard-fought win over rock bottom side Wolves and after the game, Arteta acknowledged the team's shortcomings.

The Spaniard said: "It was a relief, but we have a very clear understanding that the margins should have been bigger. We generated more chances in the second half, but after that we had a period of two or three minutes in deep, totally passive, with horrible defensive habits that are nowhere near the levels required. The first time they had an opportunity to score, they did. We should have stopped the shots before, and that is on us."

When speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Arteta summed up the chaotic evening in blunt terms. "It was a rollercoaster," he said. "The longer the game went on, they had hope and we had to accelerate our game and take more risks. We did find a way and that's a very positive thing, if not we'd be very frustrated and rightly so, but there are things to improve obviously."

Arteta's men will next face Everton in the Premier League on December 20 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.