Two knee injuries blighted Arsenal stay
The Japanese international joined the North London outfit in 2021 from Serie A side Bologna, but a serious knee injury in 2023 saw him miss the start of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
Worse was to follow, unfortunately, as more knee problems necessitated another operation, this time at the start of 2025.
Ultimately, this was to lead to the cancellation of Tomiyasu's contract, after he'd made just 84 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions.
It took until December last year for him to sign for a new club, with Eredivisie giants, Ajax, rescuing him from his football oblivion.
Just 236 minutes played at Ajax
Once again, however, any positivity that signing with a new club may have brought the player quickly dissipated.
By the end of the season, he'd made only eight appearances for the Dutch side, totalling a meagre 236 minutes of action, or the equivalent of just over two and a half full games.
A social media post from the player aired his disappointment for all to see.
“It was only five months, but I would like to thank all who support Ajax," he wrote.
“Obviously, it was not the season we wanted, and no one is satisfied with how it ended. Personally, I joined this club in January after such a long rehab. I wanted to give much more; I should have done much more for this club, but it didn’t work out well."
Training at Crystal Palace
Tomiyasu did at least manage to feature for the Japanese national team at the World Cup, but a lack of offers for his services didn't bode well, until Crystal Palace offered to allow him to train at their facilities, after an apparent request from his international colleague, Daichi Kamada.
Though there is no suggestion at present that the Eagles will be offering Tomiyasu a deal, given that he can play at both right-back and centre-back, and Palace appear likely to lose defender Maxence Lacroix to London rivals Chelsea in the near future, a move to South London isn't beyond the realms of possibility for Tomiyasu.
Notwithstanding any further injury concerns, new manager Pierre Sage would need to be convinced that the player could offer his squad something worthwhile.
Augsburg’s Chrislain Matsima has already been scouted by Sage's backroom team, and at this stage, there's every chance that he is the centre-back that Palace pursue.
Tomiyasu's early Arsenal form should've rung alarm bells
However, if Tomiyasu can deliver a handful of excellent pre-season performances, should Sage put him in his squad, he can really put the cat amongst the pigeons, particularly when Palace factors in his free agent status, too.
Of the 22 games played in his first season at the Emirates Stadium, Tomiyasu started 21 of them.
His 80.75 pass completion was certainly acceptable for an emerging squad under Mikel Arteta, though the fact that he attempted only 961 passes in all competitions, less than half of some of his teammates, should've rung some sort of alarm bells within the corridors of power.
Only 17 tackles won and 18 lost in that season, along with just 90 ball recoveries, also indicated that Tomiyasu was a little out of his depth.
Suggestions that the player would've needed time to get used to a new league and a new environment aren't without merit, but Arsenal surely could've expected a higher level of output from the right-back.
One area where he did excel was with regard to his one-on-one ground duels, and his 55.12% success rate was one of the better showings in the squad.
Tomiyasu's top-flight career hinges on what happens next
However, there was an overwhelming feeling that, even when fit, he never really did enough to convince Arteta and his staff that he was the right man for the task at hand.
Any questions as to a lack of professionalism are completely unfounded, though, with Tomiyasu simply seeing the hand of fate cruelly dealt.
The opportunities to put himself back on the map as a defender of note haven't materialised, and ahead of a potential pre-season friendly appearance for Palace, Tomiyasu must surely now understand that his career will depend on what happens in the next few weeks.
Hit the ground running, and he'll save Palace a great deal of money, whilst also resurrecting what's fast becoming a fading career.
Failure to deliver might well see the end of his time at the top level of the game.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
