The name Ryo Miyaichi is one becoming increasingly familiar to Arsenal fans and is a player of whom great things are expected in the future- however those who are unaware of him can be forgiven; he has as yet never made an appearance for the Gunners due to work permit issues. Miyaichi, 18, put pen to paper with the club in January of this year, having been on trial the previous summer.
The Japanese winger then immediately secured a loan deal with Dutch side Feyenoord and officially returned to Arsenal at the beginning of July. During his spell in the Netherlands Miyaichi impressed, scoring 3 goals and providing 5 assists in the twelve appearances he made – noticeably in the match vs Willem II, the highlights of which are below. However, while his time there was a great success (he was dubbed “Ryo-dinho” due to his skill on the ball) there also were rumours of a rift between him and some of the other players – Jerson Cabral has publicly said he will leave the club if they re-sign Miyaichi on loan as he feels aggrieved that a loan player took, and may take again, his place in the side.
The short-term future of the Under-19 international is somewhat unclear; he is struggling to obtain a work permit and Feyenoord are ambivalent over whether or not to attempt to secure his services for another year due to the problems this would cause within the squad as well as the loan fee and the lack of development for their players. Work permit issues have been exacerbated by the fact Ryo wasn’t called up the the Under-22 squad and doesn’t qualify as an EU national – however he will be a ‘homegrown player’ as he will spend 36 months with the club before the end of the season that he turns 21.
Arsene Wenger is expected to review Miyaichi’s progress during pre-season training and may well decide to keep the youngster if a work permit can be procured; he’s quoted as saying: “What I like about Ryo is that he has good timing with his runs and understands when to go and where to go”. This portrays him as a clever footballer and suggests he has, to use the cliché, a footballing brain; combined with his lightening pace and 6ft physique the teenager could prove to be excellent for Arsenal.
Ryo has already been compared to Thierry Henry and Ronaldo and so an extra year on loan could hopefully allow him to flourish without being under the spotlight. Arsene Wenger has different ideas however (and who are we to disagree) as he has hinted at Miyaichi’s inclusion in next year’s squad.
“I have only [heard] positive reports about him. He will be with us in pre-season,” Wenger said. “I think he is good enough, but if he is ready enough to have a place in our team, we will ask for a work permit and try to get him in. He looks a very promising boy and everybody who went to watch him has been hugely impressed by him. Ryo is a character and a great football player.”
The latest on Ryo is therefore that he has returned for pre-season training with Arsenal, will be part of the squad to go on the Asia tour and should a work permit be granted he will be in the first team squad next year – if not, a number of clubs including Napoli, AZ Alkmaar and Twente are interested in procuring the starlet on loan for 2011-2012.
