Japanese starlet Ryo Miyaichi admitted he still has a lot to learn and is in no rush to make his Premier League bow.
Japanese starlet happy to bide his time
Japanese starlet Ryo Miyaichi admitted he still has a lot to learn and is in no rush to make his Premier League bow.
The 18-year-old was a revelation during his loan stint at Feyenoord last season and hopes were high when he returned to Arsenal in August after securing a work permit.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has carefully wrapped the winger in cotton wool so far, limiting him to only two substitute appearances against Shrewsbury Town and Bolton in the Carling Cup.
Despite the lack of first-team opportunities, Miyaichi is happy to bide his time while he continues his development under the watchful eye of the club's coaching staff.
"I am not in a rush. The manager advises me not to and to concentrate on training," he told Arsenal's
official website.
"The biggest change is that I train and play with these top players. I never imagined myself in this position a year ago when I was playing in the high school championship qualifiers in Japan.
"I can tell I am improving a lot through training sessions with my team-mates. I am also getting used to expressing myself to them without hesitation."
Miyaichi admitted that the step up from Dutch football to the Premier League was a steep one, but his understanding of the English game is gradually improving with Wenger's help.
"I was a bit more confident about what I was doing in Holland," said the youngster, who is currently sidelined for three weeks with an ankle injury.
"But the Premier League is on a totally different level. In England it is easy to lose the ball if your passing is loose. Being able to judge is crucial.
"I learned a lot about the importance of first touch. This is particularly important to my style of attacking.
"Arsene Wenger emphasises this and I want to focus more and more on it too. We have a lot of training in tight spaces which makes me concentrate on how to make most of my first touch."
