Arsenal also aren’t going to waste time and have announced a new signing before the start of the season but for Gunner fans, it might not be the kind of player they had hoped for. The London club announced the signature of 21-year-old Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima from the J1 League, the top flight division in Japan.
Many would not know who the player exactly is but Arsene Wenger does seem to be confident about this new signing, especially due to his time in Japan. Asano won the Rookie of the Year in the J1 League in 2015 and has already won the league twice with the club and has also won the Japanese Super Cup thrice with Hiroshima.
Quick and talented but is he the future for Arsenal?
Arsenal have had a couple of decent Japanese signings in the past such as Ryo Miyaichi and Junichi Inamoto but neither of them were able to make their presence felt in the senior side and had to move one.
Asano though could be a little different; he is a striker who is quick on the ball and can play in the attacking midfielder’s role as well. The 21-year-old was not a regular for the Japanese youth teams but has made a name for himself with the Hiroshima faithful and has also scored 21 goals in 83 appearances for the J1 League team.
His best goal return came in the 2015 season when he scored 14 goals for the side. He is being likened to Eden Hazard and Theo Walcott thanks to his pace and a few Japanese journalists also believe that Asano is faster than Walcott, which would be something to keep an eye for when he does play for Arsenal.
Currently, he does have some issues with his visa and it would not be a surprise to see him out on loan in Germany or any other country until this issue is sorted out. The 21-year-old does have a goal to his name for the senior side and already have played five times for them.
There really isn’t much known about this rising star and most supporters would have been shocked at his signing but he does seem to be someone who is set for a decent future if he does live up to his potential. Asano might find it tough to make it to the starting XI of the Premier League side anytime soon but his stint in other clubs could show us if he can fit into European football or is another failure from the Orient and needs to be sent back to Japan.
Hopefully, he can do justice to the big move and make a name for himself in the Premier League.-