April is around the corner, and Arsenal, beyond all expectations, are still the leader of the Premier League. However, this Tuesday, Mikel Arteta lost one of his important players in the title race. Bad news from the Emirates – Takehiro Tomiyasu is out for the season due to a knee injury.The Japanese defender was injured during the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Sporting after a duel with Francisco Trincao, and subsequent tests determined it was a more serious knee injury. As a result, Tomiyasu underwent surgery this Tuesday in London that requires a longer recovery, so the season for the 24-year-old right-back is over, according to the club’s announcement.##NAJAVA_MECA_7120078##Truth be told, Tomiyasu’s presence is not of crucial importance for the game of the London team, but the Japanese player, as a starter in cup competitions, and (mostly) coming off the bench in the Premier League, has accumulated over 1250 minutes this season. In this way, in the absence of the Japanese national team player, all the burden will fall on the shoulders of Benjamin White, the only remaining right back in the team.Tomiyasu’s injury comes at an inconvenient time for the team for another reason – because let us remind you – Arteta will not be able to count on William Saliba, who has back problems, for a few weeks. If he had the Japanese at his disposal, the Spanish expert could rotate, put White back in the heart of the defense and send Takehiro to the right flank, but now his options are narrowed.The silver lining is that Arsenal were eliminated from the Europa League, so until the end of the season they only have games left in the Premier League.🚨 Takehiro Tomiyasu requires surgery on his knee injury & will MISS the remainder of the season. [@Teamnewsandtix] #afc pic.twitter.com/OU38l1Tc2r— afcstuff (@afcstuff) March 20, 2023 Tomiyasu arrived at the Emirates in August 2021 from Bologna for 18,500,000 euros, and so far he has played 53 games for Arsenal and registered three assists.Ten rounds before the end, Arsenal are in the first position with eight points ahead of Manchester City, who have played one game less. After returning from the international break, the Gunners welcome Leeds at the Emirates.