Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has admitted that he thought he was on his way to Tottenham Hotspur this summer only for the transfer to collapse on transfer deadline day.
Tomiyasu was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham all summer, with the 23-year-old alleged to be on Fabio Paratici’s radar at the time.
However, Spurs ended up snapping up Emerson Royal from Barcelona instead, with reports indicating at the time that the Brazilian rejected Arsenal’s advances in favour of a move to their North London rivals.
Tottenham swooping for Emerson opened the door for the Gunners to strike a deal for Tomiyasu on transfer deadline day, with the Gunners agreeing a £16m fee with Bologna for the Japanese international.
The Athletic later reported that the reason Spurs decided to snub the Tomiyasu deal was due to Japhet Tanganga’s strong performances at the start of the season which convinced Paratici and co to pursue a more attacking right-back option in Emerson.
Tomiyasu has now opened up on his failed move to Tottenham during the summer.
The Arsenal man told DAZN Japan (as relayed by The Evening Standard): “I thought I wasn’t able to join Arsenal. I thought I was going to Spurs.
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“On deadline day, the move broke down. Arsenal asked me to join them and I did immediately.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Following our 3-1 loss in the North London derby back in September, many Spurs fans were up in arms about the club’s decision to sign Emerson Royal over Tomiyasu. However, the Brazilian seems to be getting better and better with each game.
While Tomiyasu has had a solid start to his Arsenal career, he has not shown anything to suggest that he is an upgrade over Tanganga.
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