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Takehiro Tomiyasu injury: Mikel Arteta offers update after Arsenal defender limps off in Wolves win

Takehiro Tomiyasu injury: Mikel Arteta offers update after Arsenal defender limps off in Wolves win

Arsenal will assess Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Luton after he was forced off against Wolves.

Tomiyasu went down in the final 15 minutes of the Gunners’ 2-1 win on Saturday and he appeared to be clutching his right calf.

Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta was unsure what the exact problem with the right-back was - but he is hoping it is just fatigue.

Tomiyasu has been in fine form for Arsenal this season and they will want him fit for Tuesday’s visit to Kenilworth Road.

“He felt something,” said Arteta. “I don’t know if it was fatigue.

“We decided to change straight away and we didn’t want to take any risks. Let’s assess him and see how he is.”

Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead against Wolves as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard struck in the opening 15 minutes.

Takehiro Tomiyasu was forced off as Arsenal held on to beat Wolves at the Emirates (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Takehiro Tomiyasu was forced off as Arsenal held on to beat Wolves at the Emirates (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The Gunners failed to kick on from there, though, and the game had a nervy end as Matheus Cunha struck with four minutes of normal time to go.

The goal came after Oleksandr Zinchenko was caught in possession inside his own box and Arteta warned his side must know when to play out from the back.

“You have to love him (Zinchenko), how he is. Every player has strengths and weaknesses,” said Arteta.

“Alex has many more strengths. This happened and it can happen to any player.

“We have to learn from it because there are certain areas where it’s a big no to play, especially after certain things in the previous phase. That’s it. We will get better.”

Arsenal held out to claim a 2-1 win and it was a big victory for the Gunners as it moved them four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“I can only praise the players. They were excellent,” said Arteta.

“We played against a really good side and generated so much and conceded almost nothing.

“The scoreline should have been very different. We were very unlucky because we hit the post three times I think.

“At the end we made an error close to the goal - in the Premier League you get punished big time for that. Then at the end, it’s game on. Overall I’m really happy with how we performed again.”