PROFILE
One of Japan's hottest prospects, Sanfrecce Hiroshima forward Takuma Asano, has agreed a deal in principle to join Arsenal, the club have confirmed.
The 21-year-old spoke about the potential move on Wednesday, before the deal had been announced officially, describing his disbelief.
“I was stunned,” he told reporters after learning of the Gunners' interest. “But I have the confidence to succeed wherever I go.”
So Asano has a good attitude it seems, but what else will he offer the Premier League side who, when it looked so close, failed to sign goal-machine Jamie Vardy from Leicester City?
Who is Takuma Asano?
Born in Komono, Japan, 21-year-old Asano is one of his country's brightest young talents.
He burst to local fame after joining Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo High School – a well respected institution amongst Japanese professional footballers – in 2010, quickly establishing himself as the school's top scorer.
His exploits led to a move to his current club, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, with whom Asano has won two league titles, three Japanese Super Cups and picked up the J League's Rookie of the Year in 2015. He also won the AFC Under-23 Championship with Japan in 2016 - a decent haul given his age.
What are his attributes?
Explosive acceleration and speed are his main assets. The youngster is nicknamed 'The Jaguar', not only for his pace, but also his trademark celebration. Asano runs 50 metres in 5.9 seconds - to put that into perspective, reports claim speedster Theo Walcott does 40m in 4.42s.
It could be argued that his relatively small height of 1.71m (5ft 7in) will be a hindrance given the physical nature of the Premier League, but what he lacks in stature he makes up for in balance and power. A good interpreter of space, Asano's off-the-ball positioning is also a plus - and gives managers options when it comes tactical reshuffling.
So where will he play?
Although generally deployed as a centre-forward at club level, Asano can be utilised anywhere across the attacking midfield line. Often brought on from the bench to terrorise tiring defences, his willingness to run in behind would give Arsenal an extra dimension given the static nature of Olivier Giroud's general play.
Wenger could well be play him wide right – similarly to how he operates for his country.
Will he make a difference?
If you're an Arsenal fan hoping for an alternative to Jamie Vardy, he's probably not your man.
It's clear Asano has a hunger for success, a great work ethic, a lot of self-belief and a good set of fundamentals to start from. But, again, it's likely that he will be sent elsewhere in Europe to work up to the Premier League rather than be dropped in at the deep end.
But can he make a difference long term? Absolutely.
- Goal