Arsenal have been desperately searching for the striker to fire Gunners to the title, the good news is that a striker has arrived but it might not be the player everyone was hoping for. Arsenal confirmed SanfrecceHiroshima hitman Takuma Asano has agreed a deal in principle to join the Gunners this summer. The 21-year-old Japan international will officially complete a move to the Emirates Stadium once he passes a medical and is granted his work permit. He becomes Arsenal’s second signing of the summer transfer window, with the Gunners also having completed a move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Unlike the Swiss international though, Asano is not likely to be a first-team star next season, with him being firmly viewed as one for the future. They have already seen Jamie Vardy turn down a move and it will be interesting to see if Wenger makes a move for a different striker in this transfer window. The deal is reported to be around £5 million and Gunners had to ward off interest from clubs, such as Augsburg and Salzburg who had reportedly been chasing him for the past year.
Arsene Wenger has been looking for Japanese players recently, in order to bring something different to the team and for commercial reasons in Asia. He is renowned in his country for his blistering pace and quick movement off the ball. Since joinging J-League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Asano stocks have risen quickly and is currently considered one of the hottest properties in Japanese football and has already represented his country on five occasions.
His movement is excellent in and around the box, helping him create that extra bit of space to run away from opponents. A young gun with tremendous work-ethic, determination and a fine attitude, he knows what it feels like winning as he has already been part of two J-League winning sides and was adjudged as the league’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ in 2015.
The one thing that might worry Wenger about him is his small stature, which might make it difficult for him to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League. With absolutely no Premier League exposure, the Japanese sensation can definitely be a long-term prospect but his signs of making an impact next season in the Arsenal kit does look bleak.