Takuma Asano's name will go down in Japanese football history after his stunning winner against Germany in Wednesday's World Cup clash.
The striker was introduced as a second-half substitute during the Blue Samurai's fightback in Qatar, and, with the scores level at 1-1, latched onto Ko Itakura's long ball forward. Asano controlled brilliantly with his first touch, plucking the ball out of the sky, before burying his shot high into the roof of the net from an acute angle past Manuel Neuer. That goal was enough for Japan to claim a shock comeback win over Germany and put them in pole position to secure a last 16 place when they face Costa Rica on Sunday.
While many Premier League fans may have never heard of the 28-year-old before his heroics at the Khalifa International Stadium, his name may well ring a bell for Arsenal fans, because Asano is one that got away where the Gunners are concerned.
Asano joined Arsenal back in the summer of 2016 from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, arriving at the Emirates as a forward with a promising reputation, having already made his international debut as a 20 year-old the previous year. Indeed, legendary ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was convinced he was a star in the making.
“Takuma is a talented young striker and very much one for the future. He has had an impressive start to his career in Japan and we look forward to him developing over the next couple of years,” Wenger said.
However, despite his reputation, Asano immediately ran into problems, being denied a work permit to ply his trade in the UK. At the time, players from outside the EU either had to have a certain number of international caps or cost more than a particular fee and Asano fit into neither category
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He was prevented from playing in the Premier League as a result and instead was sent out on loan to Stuttgart, helping them to win the German second tier.
But despite that success when he returned to Arsenal, a work permit was again not forthcoming. He would spend the following two years on loan back in Germany, first returning to Stuttgart before joining Hannover 96.
He struggled in both those spells however, scoring just one goal in 28 combined appearances in the Bundesliga. He was then left out of the Japan squad for the 2018 World Cup, with manager Vahid Halilhodzic citing Asano's issues at Arsenal and his subsequent struggles in Germany as a reason for him not picking him.
That left Asano a a crossroads in 2019 and with one year left on his contract, he was allowed to join Partizan Belgrade on a permanent deal. He finally found form in Serbia, scoring 18 goals in 33 games in the SuperLiga in the 2020-2021 season, notching 30 times in 77 games in all for Partizan.
That earned him a move back to Germany, joining Bochum as a free agent.
He has been a key part of Bochum's side since they were promoted back into the Bundesliga. Earlier this term he even helped them to defeat the all-conquering Bayern Munich, however, he has remained unconvincing in front of goal for the Blues; only four goals have been forthcoming in 38 games over the past 18 months.
Nevertheless, his performances earned him a place in the Japan squad for this winter's tournament and Asano has now written himself into his country's history books, his Arsenal nightmare now just a distant memory.
