We were some ten minutes into the second half of the Germany-Japan clash, with Die Mannschaft routinely controlling their opening World Cup game.Then, the Japanese coach made what will turn out to be the best possible move, a genuine game-changer, by putting in Takuma Asano.The 28-year-old right winger turned the tables almost instantly with his unstoppable runs, energy and determination.Samurai slaughter wasteful Germans!Moreover, Asano plays in the Bundesliga, so he’s fully aware of the Germans’ qualities. He exploited their flaws to the maximum, changing the match’s atmosphere as the Blue Samurais were getting closer to levelling the score.Takehiro Tomiyasu and Takuma Asano both came off the bench when Japan were losing to turn the game round for their country 👏🇯🇵The Arsenal effect 🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/EE2iJI5nEK— Gunners (@Gunnersc0m) November 23, 2022 It eventually happened in the 75th minute before Asano himself once again stormed on the right flank and buried it behind Noyer for a sensational comeback and larger-than-life victory. But who’s this blonde Samurai, you might ask?Arsene Wenger signed Takuma Asano for Arsenal in 2016 and he made sure Arsenal purposely lost to Bayern Munich in UCL so that Takuma Asano could feel the pain which will lead him to take revenge for it by defeating Germany in the 2022 World Cup.Arsene Wenger has done it again. pic.twitter.com/JdF98VQCK4— Sean™ (@ArtOfMikel) November 23, 2022 If you’re a long-standing Arsenal fan, then Asano’s name probably rings a bell – back in 2016, none other than legendary Arsene Wenger brought this prodigy straight from his homeland, praising the skills of a talented forward.”Takuma is a talented young striker and very much one for the future,” Wenger said as he unveiled Arsenal’s surprise new signing.”He has had an impressive start to his career in Japan, and we look forward to him developing over the next couple of years.”Unfortunately, it took Asano much more than a couple of years to develop.He moved to London in July 2016 but immediately encountered problems as he was denied a work permit.##EDITORS_CHOICE##At the time, players coming from outside the European Union (EU) either had to have a certain number of international caps, so the Japanese player was prevented from playing in the Premier League.The man nicknamed Jaguar, for his quick runs and one-of-a-kind goal celebrations, went on loan to Germany as Arsenal attempted to sort his paperwork. He enjoyed some success, helping Stuttgart to win Bundesliga 2 in 2016-17, but in the two subsequent seasons, he netted only once in 28 games combined.##NAJAVA_MECA_6824791##In 2018, he was named in Japan’s preliminary squad for the World Cup, but manager Vahid Halilhodzic directly cited Asano’s issues at Arsenal as a reason for him not taking him to Russia.He then spent two seasons with Partizan Belgrade, where, playing regular football, he finally found form.Takuma Asano. Partizan Belgrads Schule pic.twitter.com/rjRbZqTlS3— Mephisto 🇪🇸 (@mephovic) November 23, 2022 In 2020-21, he scored 18 goals in 33 Serbian SuperLiga matches, thus earning himself a return to German football with Bochum last summer.Asano has also booked himself a ticket for the Blue Samurai squad, patiently waiting for his 15 minutes of fame.And it came on Wednesday afternoon at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. Asano 2, Germany 1.
