We’ve got Ryodinho, we’ve got Ryodinho…

I thought this was Justin Bieber

Well it wasn’t quite a new signing, although Arsene Wenger suggested that it was almost like one, but there was some good news last night when the club revealed that Ryo Miyaichi has been granted a work permit.

The Japanese youngster had an excellent season on loan at Feyenoord last year & impressed when representing the Arsenal out in Asia over the summer. There were initial fears that due to his lack of international football that permission to play in England would again be denied but during a meeting at Wembley yesterday, which Wenger attended & spoke for the cause, an FA panel decided to grant the necessary documentation on the grounds that Miyaichi is deemed an ‘Exceptional Talent’ – not only Le Boss but also the Japanese Football Association attested to this fact.

Exceptional Talent

I’ll admit that aside from the odd glimpses I caught of Eredivisie games & YouTube clips, as well as our games out in Asia, I’ve not seen much of the lad so won’t proceed to give you a breakdown of his footballing ability, but what I would say is that he looks quick, decisive, composed and not afraid to work hard with or without the ball. I can certainly see him getting a decent amount of game time this season especially as Wenger rates him extremely highly.

In fact the gaffer rates the young man so highly that, according to Jamie Sanderson over at Young Guns Blog, when Ryo suffered a broken leg whilst on trial with Ajax & had returned to Japan the manager called him to say “Get fit, learn some English and come back. Arsenal is your home“.

Trigger

Come back he certainly did & after making a considerable splash out in Holland, he was voted MOTM in his first game & quickly earned the nickname ‘Ryodinho‘ after being compare to he with the horses face (Ronaldinho), the 18-year-old is now an Arsenal player proper. It’s an incredible rise considering that in 2010 he was still playing high school football in Japan.

The ‘Exceptional Talent’ tag on his work permit is by no means an exaggeration, he may well be another young & untested player & he may be another winger but we were all desperate to see him win his appeal and should just be glad he has done.

Everywhere else in Arsenal world it’s all pretty much the same as it was yesterday I’m afraid & at the moment it’s difficult to expand on any of the rumours & speculation.

Do you know 'Candle in the wind'?

I guess we were afforded some good news when the international between England & the Netherlands, which was due to take place at Wembley tonight, was called off due to the ongoing situation on the streets of London – the good news from our perspective is that Robin Van Persie will now be unable to pick up an injury that will require him to sleep in the womb of an otter for six months whilst listening to a continuous loop of a Chilean pan pipes quintet rendition of Elton Johns greatest hits. Small mercies my friends, small mercies.

Our 25 man squad for next weeks Champions League qualifying round first leg against Udinese was named and it was a surprise to some that Cesc Fabregas & Samir Nasri were on the list. To be honest they have to be, we get down to business straight away this season and if the club are still paying the duos wages then they should be expected to help their teammates win games. In all honesty I will be shocked if Nasri is still at the club by then with a move to Manchester City’s United Stadium in the next few days looking increasingly likely. For my money it is more likely that he will move on then Cesc. Please note that when I say “for my money” I will in no way be betting on that outcome, I am not a betting man for very good reasons. Marouane Chamakh says the pair will both leave if replacements can be found, not sure that is much of a revelation really. What does concern me is the Moroccans willingness to talk so openly about the situation, its not gonna help him improve the increasingly fragile relationships he currently has with the fans. The new NB52 for 11/12?

If I don't see it it's not a goal

The real shock inclusion in that 25 man squad is Manuel Almunia. I can only assume that Wenger wants the riots to continue, which they certainly would do if the hapless Spaniard was to make an appearance between the sticks next Tuesday!

Maybe it is just a contingency step, but those kind of measures have come back to bite us before & I don’t think anyone, Almunia included, want that to happen again.

Still no concrete news on further signings although whilst I write this we continue to be heavily linked with Gary Cahill & Juan Mata – watch this space.

Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala still have an interest in taking Andrey Arshavin back to the mother land according to reports, while Aston Villa are the latest team linked with Nicklas Bendtner.

Hopefully Premier league games will not be affected by the ridiculous & downright disgusting scenes of public disorder that have plagued the country over the last few days & nights, that would be the straw most likely to break the metaphorical camels back I think.

Lastly, I just want to say thank you to all of you who are taking the time to read Up The Arsenal. This blog was set up as little more than a mouth piece for my own views on everything Arsenal related & its amazing that with little to no advertising, aside from the occasional tweet & re-tweets and word of mouth, plenty of you are taking the time to visit each day to cast your eyes over these ramblings. If you take a look at the comments on yesterday’s post you’ll see that apparently all of the above is open to criticism, now that is water off a ducks back to be honest with you, but it certainly would be great to have a few more enlightened and structured comments & debates going on. 

Well as always keep an eye on our twitter feed throughout the day for all Arsenal related updates.

Thanks for reading.

Up The Arsenal!