Arsenal’s new striker refused a work permit!

Asano will not play for Arsenal this season!

You may remember the shock on people’s faces when Arsenal confirmed that their second signing of the summer was going to be a striker, only for the player to turn out to be the unknown Takuma Asano. In fact I’m sure many people still wonder who he is now, however at the same time you may recall United were close to confirming Zlatlan Ibrahimovic.

Whilst United got the striker they craved, Arsenal are still without a new top quality striker up front and it looks ever more likely that it will be another season of Giroud, an injured Welbeck and a second fiddle Alexis Sanchez or Theo Walcott up front. Asano however will not be in Arsene Wenger’s plans for this season, despite the manager having high hopes for his £3 million buy from Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Whilst Wenger was answering question after question about potential new faces coming to the Emirates, he was keen to point out that Asano has had his application for a work permit to play in England turned down. Wenger said: “We got the work permit turned down because he didn’t cost £15m, that’s one of the rules you have to know in England. Therefore he has to go and play somewhere else. He will play I hope France or in Germany. He’s a player who I believe highly in and I will take care of him so that he gets to the right place.”

Firstly I frankly don’t care much for Wenger’s sarcasm regarding the transfer fee for Asano. Wenger has been getting a lot of stick from fans and pundits alike for his lack of ambition in the transfer market, especially towards his supposed penny pinching when it comes to making deals. Wenger famously put that £40 million and £1 bid in for Luis Suarez whilst he was still at Liverpool and ever since then Wenger has been well recognised for trying drive a hard bargain, without much success.

Wenger seems frustrated that Asano hasn’t been granted a work permit, especially whilst no other clubs seem to be struggling with the same problem. But perhaps that’s because our rivals in the Premier League aren’t trying to strengthen their first team squads, by adding unrecognised youth talent as a viable option for leading the frontline?

Asano never was expected to play a huge role at the club this season anyway, with the Japanese striker anticipated to feature more with the Under 21’s rather than the first team. However it now seems that a loan move with have to do for Arsene Wenger and his plans for Asano, and Wenger will have to hope that he can get that offer for France or Germany that he craves for.

By AH

30 Comments

  1. Never felt this terrible before about Arsenal/board/Arsene..

    I know we have past through hard times before as fans but this period just feels really terrible. Is it just me?

    1. Hahaha,
      Chill out mate, We are coming to an end of a era!
      And this isn’t going to be a happy-ever-after,fairy tale ending, I’m afraid. ?

      Sit back and enjoy the deluded ones, fairwell party!
      Banners and all.

  2. Either one of two things happened Arsenal tried to get a work permit for the kid to fill a gap due to our lack of transfer activity or Asano was always the long term striker option for this season and it back fired.

    Either way we are no better off with not one viable transfer target.

    1. As if Wenger does not know the rules.
      He’s been in England 20 years.
      How dumb does he think
      Arsenal fans are?
      He buys someone he knows will not get a work permit
      then blames the system for the player not being eligible.
      Wengers lies have sadly become his most prominent characteristic.

      1. You were right from the start David.
        YO! .. Billy Jean, The kid is Wenger’s Son! ?

        *Wenger’s words ” I will take care of him” ?

      2. Davidnz, we are still in europe, and it is still meant to be a level playing field. However spanish clubs can sign young players from outside the eu and develop them at their clubs, british clubs cannot and have to send them on loan to spain.

        When brexit occurs we can assume that this rule will then apply to eu players as well. So we can assume that in future our young players will all be british and we will only be able to buy established international players from abroad.

        Boris did not tell us that did he?

        1. England is a European country so
          Accrington Stanley and
          Bradford Park Avenue can say
          they are in Europe too 🙂

          1. In case you missed the big news: in June UK voted to exit from EU. EU is not the same as Europe (in sporting terms Russia and even Israel are part of Europe). EU is all about free movement of labour and resources among the member states. Just guess what will happen if UK will not agree with this. You have 3 tries. I feel generous today.
            Asano was bound not toe get the work permit. Not sure why Wenger thought he will get one.

  3. I strongly doubt if we actually think Asano would have recieved a permit, i figure 2-3 years from now, dependent on how many calls he gets for the japan national team, so i do not know why we sound surprise

    1. I have always thought this “work permit issues” is just nonsense.

      Ever notice that most big name or key players rarely have work permit problems that go on for years. Players who are likely to be on loan anyway somehow cannot get their permits? It is a convenient excuse for something that does not need excusing.

      If Arsenal really needed Asano this season, his work permit issues would be resolved in a week.

  4. I found it very funny when people said Asano’s transfer was for shirt sales,business,bla bla bla.It’s as if you guys don’t know.TmWhen Wenger says and I quote “he’s one for the future” that should actually tell you that he means what he is saying and I for one think he bought hin because he thinks he’s one for the futureWhether I see him making it or not who cares?By the way did Arsenal after they went back in for Maxi Romero complete the deal?.

      1. So because they are all Asian so if 1 fails the other will fail too?

        Seriously, give that kid a chance!

  5. Wenger saying that new signings will
    endanger the livelihoods of 600
    Arsenal employees is again is a blatant lie.
    A cynical and crude attempt to divert
    attention away from the real truth.
    But the fans are dumb, right, so just say
    anything because the fans are too stupid to discover the truth.
    Wenger and his top 20 players are paid 120 mill in salaries.
    Wenger himself is paid 8 mill salary which equates to
    more than 600 non player Arsenal club employees combined salaries.
    Walcott himself is paid more than 450 AFC workers annual salaries combined.
    Wellbeck is paid more than 300 AFC employees annual salaries combined.
    Debuchy and Ramsey together get more than 500 AFC workers.
    Wilshere himself gets more than 350 AFC employees combined salaries.
    But according to Wenger Arsenal fans are so dumb they
    will never discover the truth and even if they do they will
    be shouted down by the AKB’s so just keep on lying Arsene
    it has worked this past decade why stop now.

    1. Wenger was asked ” Does it matter if players are overpriced, in a game where billions are being poured in? Does it really matter?””

      Wenger replied, What matters to me is when you have a club of 600 employees that you are sure you can pay everybody at the end of the month. That is the most important. If you have the money to spend £300 million you can do it. But at the end of the month you have to respect everybody who works for the club and pay everybody.

      Basically he was saying that if you have £300m you can spend it on players as long as you have enough money left to pay your bills.

      1. @jonm.
        More accurately he should have said.
        “We need to be able to pay the manager
        and the 30 playing staff 120 mill and the
        600 rank and file members their
        on average 300 quid a week wages”.
        There’s ways of saying things
        and then there is telling the truth.

    1. Well, he did say that Brexit will have an impact on the EPL transfers from within EU. Luckily, UK is still in EU (apparently until 2019 at least) and they can buy free of restrictions thanks to Johnny Bosman.

  6. Arsenal negotiators are rubbish. Even Theo Walcott and his team got their way with the deal they wanted for his pay hike a couple seasons back.

  7. So another money spinning arsenal ploy comes off! Sign Assano, milk millions on shirt sales across Asia and then announce that he can’t get a permit and may leave? A voice from Japan: “please Mr Wenger can I get my money back for this? I’ve lost the receipt but I’ve only worn it once!” Wengers reply: “not happning!” #wedontknowwhatweredoing!

  8. Even for someone like myself who has been arguing wenger should have been kicked in to retirement 5 years ago the shambolic behaviour during this transfer is a bit of a shock … If the man has money to burn on upgrading his first eleven then Rodriguez and drexler for around 100m would do it … Draxler on the left with Sanchez and Rodriguez as free to roam attackers would cause big problems for any defence ..ozil creating the chances along with santi or wilshere if he gets his mojo back… That would be worth paying to watch …

  9. If Wenger thought this was his last season, wouldn’t he try to make the two key signings, that everyone knows we need, so he could end his 20yr reign with a title?

    1. Maybe it is his last season and by not spending he will get a BIG Fat Dividend when he goes.
      He could spend 200 M and still not win a thing there is no Guarantee. if he did this and did fail
      then his Dividend would be way down.This could be the reason he is reluctant to Spend.
      I am not saying this is true but it might be.

  10. Most Japanese footballers tend to peak very young,for example Ryo Miyaichi as a tenager looks a star player. But today at the age of 24 Myaichi overall football closely resemble monotonous exibition schoolboy stuff. In terms of geometry his height, size and physique stayed the same. Therefore, Miyaichi reached his peak at the age of 18 this is very common amoung Japanese footballers.

    So base on history at the age of 22 Takuma Asano is at his best, it would take Asano a minimum of 2 years or more to get a working permit. This means that if lucky by the time he makes his first apprearance for Arsenal he will be 25 and past his best. Arsenal needed a striker to perform well this season Asano will not be available for Arsenal until 2019.

    Instead of spending 5 million transfer fee on Asano a player who will not make any appearance for 3 years why not buy Balotelli for 7 million. Mr Wenger should know much better Takuma Asano together with the 34 million he spend on Xhaka a tackler would count as botch signings from Mr Wenger.

  11. I don’t think Wenger was not going to present Takuma Asano as a new First Team Striker.
    Then again Wenger does do things to wind the Fan’s Up. Look when stand back and take a good look at things Wenger had Plenty of time to get a TOP Class Striker he knew at the end of last season he needed one. But he sat on it then makes a few bids knowing well nothing going to happen. At the end of the Day he had NO Intention of buying a Top Class Striker he was just messing with our heads. Same thing he does season after season. This Man has to go and the sooner the better. Wenger is turning ARSENAL into a Joke shame on him.

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