Micah Richards has said that he would not like to have come up against Kaoru Mitoma, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal.
90 Min recently claimed that Mikel Arteta’s side were keen on signing the £20,000-a-week winger.
The fact that the once-top right-back, Micah Richards is fearful of the prospect of having to face Arsenal-linked star Mitoma speaks volumes of how talented he is.
The Brighton & Hove Albion phenomenon ran rings around Trent Alexander-Arnold as his side demolished Liverpool 3-0.
The Japanese international is as good as it gets when it comes to dribblers in the Premier League, which makes him a scary sight for any full-back in the country.
As per FbRef, Kaoru Mitoma has completed 2.18 dribbles per 90 over the past 365 days, which puts him in the top 17% of wingers and attacking midfielders for this very stat in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Keeping that in mind, one can understand why Micah Richards would not look forward to facing reported Arsenal target Kaoru Mitoma.
Now, the former Manchester City defender has had his say.
Micah Richards says he would not like to face reported Arsenal target Kaoru Mitoma
“I wouldn’t like to play against him [Kaoru Mitoma] because he’s too sharp.”
“When I was playing against a winger, I would always show him down the line but what he does is that he’s so smart and agile.”
“He runs at you and plays inside, then when he plays inside the midfielder, plays the ball quick in behind you, so while you’re looking at where the ball goes, he’s running behind you.”
“It makes it so difficult to get hold of him. He never stops moving. He is always going into positions where you don’t want to be.”
“When you are playing against a winger who is right footed playing on the left and he comes inside, you are thinking your job is done now, so you’re passing him on to the centre-half or the holding midfielder.”
“But then he’s in positions where nobody is marking him and he’s so sharp with his one and two-touch passing that he can dribble past you”, Richards told BBC’s Monday Night Club.
Ultimately, Micah Richards is spot on, as Arsenal-linked star Kaoru Mitoma is a nightmare to face for any right-back.
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