2 Takuma Asano
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Even prior to his much-publicised move to Arsenal, Takuma Asano was highly spoken off, with many a pundit naming him one of the young stars to watch out for in the Olympics. Given the description of his Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger as ‘a talented young striker and very much one for the future’, Japan’s games will surely be watched by plenty of Arsenal fans.
Asano was named the J-League’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ last season, with Sanfrecce Hiroshima faithful treated to his searing pace as he ran at defenders to torment them. However, Asano has only scored 14 goals in 60 games for his J-League side, while a solitary goal in 5 games for Japan doesn’t exactly set hearts racing.
However, Asano has been fantastic for the Japan U-23 side, winning the AFC Championship earlier this year. Thus Asano is extremely familiar with much of his teammates, who form the bulk of the Olympic side as well. I wouldn’t bet against the striker nicknamed ‘The Jaguar’ to strike fear into the defences of Colombia, Nigeria and Sweden in Group B
