"This goal is for my mom who passed away last year" – Arsenal star makes emotional Instagram post after 5-0 Sheffield United demolition
Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu has dedicated his maiden Gunners goal to his late mother after his team's 5-0 Premier League home win over Sheffield United on Saturday (October 28).
The Gunners, who missed out on the Premier League title by five points last term, maintained their title push with a win over Sheffield at the Emirates Stadium. Eddie Nketiah bagged a hat-trick inside 58 minutes before Fabio Vieira converted a spot-kick in the 88th minute. Tomiyasu scored his side's fifth from a corner deep into the injury-time.
In the aftermath of the clash, Tomiyasu took to Instagram to post:
"Finally! First goal for @arsenal Thank you guys!!! And this goal is for my mom who passed away last year 🙏🏻"
Showing appreciation to his teammate, Martin Odegaard commented:
"❤️"
Arsenal's £105 million signing Declan Rice also pitched in. He wrote:
"Tomiiiiiii"
William Saliba, who played 90 minutes against Sheffield, posted:
"❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️"
Oleksandr Zinchenko also showed his support to Tomiyasu, writing:
"❤️👏"
Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli congratulated with the comment:
"Super Tomi ❤️"
Tomiyasu, 24, came on as a second-half substitute to replace Ben White in the 5-0 victory against the Blades. He completed 21 passes with 95% accuracy, registered two shots, made two interceptions and one clearance during his 24 minutes on the pitch for the Gunners.
A 36-cap Japan international, Tomiyasu joined Mikel Arteta's outfit from Bologna in a deal worth up to £20 million in 2021. He has scored one goal and provided three assists in 65 overall matches for his team.
Arsenal manager Arteta explains decision to drop Martin Odegaard in recent 5-0 triumph
Speaking at a post-game press conference, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claimed that his captain Martin Odegaard was not fully fit to face newly promoted Sheffield United. He elaborated (h/t football.london):
"We went through all the minutes that everybody has played in the last three weeks and some of them played an enormous amount. Martin has been as well carrying a little thing that wasn't very comfortable. So we have players with enormous quality and we have to choose and we believe that it was the right day to do so."
Odegaard, 24, remained an unused substitute against Paul Heckingbottom's outfit. In his place, Emile Smith Rowe started the contest before being replaced by Fabio Vieira in the 73rd minute at the Emirates.
So far this season, the Norwegian has registered four goals and one assist in 1132 minutes of action. He has started 13 of his 14 matches.