Back in August 2019, Unai Emery sanctioned the departure of Takuma Asano, who joined Partizan Belgrade after three years at the Emirates.
The Spaniard had just signed Nicolas Pepe for £72 million. Add the Ivorian to the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and Asano’s chances of game-time were always slim.
The forward never actually made an appearance for the Gunners in a competitive fixture, and left the club without a trace.
However, he’s now starting to find himself over in Serbia.
So far this season, the 22-cap Japan international has netted 12 goals in 23 games across all competitions.
The 26-year-old has also registered four assists, in what has been a very impressive season so far.
We’re by no means saying that it was a mistake for Emery to sell Asano.
There wasn’t much chance of the former Hannover 96 attacker getting much action in north London, so it was for the best that he left.
Sometimes, it just takes a different environment, or a different playing style, for a player to thrive, which is what we’re seeing with Asano now.
Clearly, Arsene Wenger had an eye for talent, and must’ve seen something in the Japanese forward when signing him from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in July 2016.
Now, we can see that Wenger’s judgement was accurate – it just took Asano a few years to discover his potential, in a less-demanding division.
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