Arsenal: “No-loss” Takuma Asano can’t be forgotten

Arsenal are one of the few clubs that can upset their fan base by making no-loss investments. That said, Takuma is one such investment that can still pay dividends.

There are more than a fair share of Arsenal fans bitter about the potential signing of Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos on the grounds that he is a waste like many other youth signings. Takuma Asano’s name has been thrown into the hate parade. But this is all garbage. Asano is 23 years old and is finding his footing in the Bundesliga. To call him a waste now is just grossly irresponsible.

Players that burst onto the seen in the K- or J-League boast supreme technical efficiency, but not necessarily the physicality to make it elsewhere in the world. It is a rare talent that can go straight from their home league into one of the big five and seamlessly transition.

Shinji Kagawa is one of the few to leave the J-League, hit the Bundesliga at the age of 23, and truly thrive. And even then, that thriving didn’t carry over to the Premier League.

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Takuma Asano touched down in the Bundeliga 2, on loan with Stuttgart, at the age of 22 and he settled pretty well, scoring four goals and adding four assists in his first season outside of his native Japan.

His technical efficiency is certainly a calling card, as is his blazing speed. But here he is at the age of 23 and spending his second year on loan, this time in the Bundesliga after helping Stuttgart gain promotion, and people are already writing him off as a waste, or forgetting about him entirely.

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Think of it this way. Asano is 23 years old. That may seem old by Premier League standards, but again, he is coming out of Japan. By comparison, look at Shinji Okazaki of Leicester, who didn’t reach Stuttgart until the age of 25 and who is currently a reliable goal-scorer for the Foxes and a Premier League champion.

I recognize that Okazaki isn’t the gold standard of Premier League scorers, but the point is that it is a different scale for players coming out of Japan or Korea and just because Asano is 23 and fluctuating in form in the Bundesliga, doesn’t mean he should be written off.

Plus, given the lack of attacking threats we are facing in the near future, having our own version of Okazaki isn’t the worst idea in the world. Give him another few years and he will have shown us if he is worth five, six goals a season which, let’s be honest, wouldn’t be the worst return on investment. Not to mention the fact that the potential for more is always there.

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And, if it doesn’t end up working out, what did we lose? Pride? That’s silly. Asano is a speedy, talented player. It was well worth the chump change we threw at him on the chance that he would amount to something.