My Arsenal Blog

While Borussia Dortmund’s Manchester bound playmaker Shinji Kagawa might be the hottest Asian player on the planet at present, but Arsenal believe that their own Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi could be the next big thing to come from the Far East.

Gunners’ fans would have no doubt followed Miyaichi’s progress during Bolton’s ill-fated battle to avoid the drop this season. His ability to deliver a good ball on set plays was very evident, as were his rather decent finishing skills, showing exactly why Arsene Wenger was interested in the youngster.

However, it is interesting to see how a coach assesses the youngster’s first season in the Premier League, and new first team coach Neil Banfield had this to say about the Gunners’ dynamite sensation: “Ryo has come over and done ever so well. He had a period where he found it a bit tough, with the demands we were putting on him, but as his character is, he fought hard. He trained with the first team and went on loan to Bolton and has done well there.

“We will sit down in the summer and have a plan for all of our young players, and it will be the manager’s decision whether to bring him back or send him out on loan again if he feels he needs another year before he is ready for Arsenal. But he has done extremely well at Bolton.

“He has a good team ethic and individually he has done really well at times. He found it tough at times, but that is why they go out as well. it is about learning and he has come through it and found a way to establish himself in Bolton’s first team. I think another year for him next season would be good development for him.

“It depends how he comes back in pre-season and if the manager gauges whether he should stay here and play in the first-team squad.

Although Miyaichi has said he wishes to stay at Arsenal, it is not realistic to expect him to get many games with the the amout of classy more experienced wingers that are already at the Emirates. As much as we might want to see the Japanese youngster in action, chances are it could be another season long wait.

The Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin joined his old club Zenit last night in the dying minutes of the (Russian) transfer window, and judging by the initial reactions it is the right move for the Russia captain, although Arsenal could do with all hands on deck right now.

The official Arsenal.com website quickly confirmed the deal and gave him a nice write-up to take with him back to his homeland. They said: Andrey Arshavin has joined Russian Premier League champions Zenit St Petersburg on loan for the remainder of the 2011/12 English Premier League season.

Everyone at Arsenal wishes Andrey well during his spell with Zenit.

And so do we all. It’s a shame he seemed to lose interest at Arsenal very quickly after his arrival, and perhaps he will recover his finest form back in Russia.