Why Arsenal should swoop for this Bundesliga ace:

Arsenal haven’t always been successful when it comes to signing Asian players.

Take for instance, Junichi Inamoto, who joined the Gunners back in 2001. He made four appearances for the North London club, before moving onto Fulham, then West Brom, then Cardiff, and so on. He’s now playing for Kawasaki Frontale, a J League club.

And most recently, Park Chu-Young, one of the most bewildering signings Arsene Wenger has ever made (and that’s saying something, since he signed Mikael Silvestre, Sebastien Squillaci and Marouane Chamakh).

Signed last season, despite the fact that he was on call for the South Korean army, Park went onto make 6 appearances for Arsenal. He scored just one goal.

He’s currently on loan at Celta Vigo, where he has scored just 4 goals in 24 appearances.

Underwhelming, would be an understatement. There’s a generally held belief amongst Arsenal fans that Park was merely bought in to help the ‘Arsenal brand’ draw more appeal in Asian markets. This may be a touch cynical, but it’s difficult to justify this signing in a way that doesn’t make you sound like a bit of a conspiracy theorist.

Suffice to say, if Arsenal look to sign another Asian star, they’ll have to make sure they get it right this time.

Which brings me to the Daily Mail‘s claim that Arsenal have their eye on Japanese midfielder, Takashi Inui. Apparently, the Gunner’s chief scout, Steve Rowley watched the Eintracht Frankfurt star during a recent game.

At first glance, he doesn’t exactly fill a gap in this Arsenal squad. Inui is a speedy, left-sided midfielder, who can play in the centre or out wide. There’s a (too) easy comparison to be made to Shinji Kagawa (both Japanese, both products of the Bundesliga, both attacking minded midfielders), but Inui probably isn’t at that level yet.

The 24-year-old has nabbed six goals and six assists in 28 appearances this season. That’s not a bad return, but Arsene Wenger must surely feel he can kick on and offer more, if Arsenal’s interest is genuine.

Whilst he wouldn’t exactly be a marquee signing, Inui would probably have ample value as a squad player. Whilst the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby are always injured, Inui would offer an option from the bench. Now it’s up to Wenger and his team to negotiate a fair price.

What’s your take? Would signing Takashi Inui improve this Arsenal side, or would he represent another Asian flop?

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