Arsenal’s new player, Takehiro Tomiasu, was wanted by Tottenham, rejected Barcelona as a kid and was never sent off

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Arsenal have confirmed the signing of defender Takehiro Tomiasu from Bologna.

The Japanese star was announced at the last minute in a £17m deal which means the Gunners board have backed Mikel Arteta with £150m this summer.

Arsenal on Twitter

The deal crossed the line in the last hours on the day of the deadline

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You’ll be forgiven for not knowing much about the 22-year-old but don’t worry, we’re ready to tell you more.

Here are five facts about Tomiyasu…

It is versatile and physical

Tomiyasu was skilled at both right-back and midfield during his two seasons in northern Italy.

One of his main strengths is his physicality. He is 6 inches tall and 2 inches tall and won his ninth (91) aerial competition in Serie A last season, more than any other player in Arsenal’s current squad.

I love Tottenham too

He was closely followed by Tottenham at one point, before switching to Barcelona’s Emerson Royal.

Spurs have reportedly been unwilling to pay upwards of £15m for the player and his first chance to show what they are missing could be the north London derby on September 26.

He could have gone to Barcelona

Tomiyasu left Japanese boyhood club Avispa Fukuoka for the Belgian outfit Sint-Truiden in 2018 when he was just 19 years old.

But his first move to Europe may have already occurred when he was just eleven years old if he accepted an offer from Barcelona to move, after a successful experience at the club’s football camp.

It only took one season in the Belgian professional league to convince Bologna to pay £7.7m to transfer him to Serie A in 2019.

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Tomiyasu moves to North London after two years in Bologna. He is a key player for his country

He has represented Japan in every age group from under 16s to senior positions.

Already winning a full 23 matches despite only making his debut for Japan in 2018, Tomiyasu was on the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) team of the decade, as selected by the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics).

It’s not as hot as Granit Shaka

Known as the most red-carded team in Premier League history, Arsenal is in fact another team and Arsenal will be cutting the ribbon for the 100 red-card club – although Tomiyasu won’t be a favorite among bookmakers to see his new club come to such a feat.

There were 149 players booked more times than in Serie A last season, while he won 47 out of 60 attempts (78% success rate) and was never sent off for his club or international career.

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