BERLIN - Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has signed for Ajax on a six-month deal, the Dutch powerhouse announced Tuesday, joining fellow Japan international Ko Itakura in Amsterdam.
Tomiyasu left the Gunners by mutual consent in July, having played only six minutes last season in the English Premier League. The 27-year-old underwent his most recent surgery in February on a troublesome right knee.
"I feel very excited and I'm delighted to be here," Tomiyasu said on the Ajax website. "I'd like to thank them all who have been around me because I've obviously been out for about 12 months...It was the toughest period for sure, but I never gave up, and I worked very hard. It's like a fresh restart for me."
Capped 42 times for Japan, Tomiyasu last played for the Samurai Blue in June 2024 and is now out to prove his fitness to make Hajime Moriyasu's squad for the World Cup next summer while playing alongside a player he knows well.
"It's always great to have one of the closest teammates at the same club," Tomiyasu said of the 28-year-old Itakura. "I've been playing with him since I was 16, so I know him very well and he knows me very well."
Capable of playing anywhere across the backline, Tomiyasu made his professional debut with his boyhood club Avispa Fukuoka and also played for Sint-Truiden and Bologna before joining Arsenal in the summer of 2021, going on to play 84 matches for the North London team across all competitions.
Ajax are third in the Eredivisie, 14 points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven, while the four-time European champions are languishing near the bottom of the league-phase table in the Champions League.
"I could feel that they believed in my ability and quality. That's why I've chosen to come here and play for Ajax," said Tomiyasu, who will wear the No. 32 shirt. "We have so many young players and we are struggling a little bit at the moment, but I think we still have a chance to win the league."
"I used to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and the best club at the moment. I've had many experiences there, so I'll try to be a great example for young players, especially on the pitch but also off the pitch."
