The early 2000s was an exciting and trophy-laden area for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger had arrived in the late 90s, transforming the English football and the Gunners were evolving all the time.
They would peak in 2003/04 with the Invincibles season and a key part of that would be the controversial signing of former Tottenham Hotspur captain Sol Campbell. The English centre-back would help strengthen the defence during a transitional phase, having lost stalwarts Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn in the same period.
That may have been the most notable transfer of the summer, now 23 years ago, but one other deal also made headlines. Junichi Inamoto joined Arsenal in a pioneering move for Japanese football. Although he struggled to truly shine in north London, he had a long career and incredibly only retired in December 2024 aged 45.
Junichi Inamoto's Time at Arsenal
Struggled for game time in England
Japan's Junichi Inamoto signs for Arsenal, pictured with Arsene Wenger
Inamoto was Arsenal's fifth summer signing in the summer of 2001, following the arrivals of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Richard Wright, Francis Jeffers and the aforementioned Campbell. His £3.5m move was met with plenty of excitement as Japan were yet to have a player feature in the Premier League.
Wenger, who new Japanese football well having previosuly coached Grampus Eight, spoke highly of the player. He told the press:
"We are pleased to welcome Inamoto to the club. He is physically strong and a great passer of the ball. His enthusiasm and ability will undoubtedly strengthen our squad this season."
His debut season would turn out to be a bit of a disappointment, however. The midfielder ended up playing just four times for the club and none of these would come in the Premier League. In fact, he would only get as far as making the bench in that competition on two occasions.
Instead, he would have to settle for minutes in the Champions League – playing twice as a substitute in wins over Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen – and in the League Cup – starting in a 2-0 win vs Grimsby Town and a shock 4-0 defeat away at Blackburn Rovers. He was hooked at half-time in that cup exit, and totalled just 149 minutes for the Gunners before leaving at the end of the season.
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Career After Arsenal and Eventual Retirement
Success at 2002 World Cup helped secure Fulham move
Having been released by Arsenal, Inamoto helped recover his reputation with by scoring twice in the 2002 World Cup (held in South Korea and Japan) as his country reached the knockout stages for the first time in their history. "Those games were the launchpad for my name to be known around the world," said Inamoto. "I was already at Arsenal by then but those goals had a tremendous impact."
Despite his disappointing time with the Gunners, he was still a huge star – with the Japanese press claiming he was bigger than David Beckham. Shinsuke Kobayashi, then-England correspondent for newspaper Kyodo, wrote:
"Think David Beckham, then double it. Junichi is huge. People want to know everything about Junichi. Whatever he does and wherever he goes, Kyodo follows it."
Off the back of the World Cup, he secured a move to Premier League outfit Fulham. He spent two years at Craven Cottage, finally becoming the first Japanese player to appear in the English top-flight and proved to be a fine player, scoring four league goals from midfield during this time. He also famously bagged four strikes over the two legs of their Intertoto Cup final against Bologna, including a hat-trick.
His time in England would conclude with a 2004 move to West Brom. Amid the continuing Beckham fame comparison, he said:
"Can I be bigger than Beckham? Yes, but West Brom would have to win the Premiership and Japan win the World Cup. Also I would need a pop star wife. I don't have one, but I hope I can one day, just like Beckham.
"In Japan a lot of people notice me, but Beckham does a lot of commercials and his wife is very famous. West Brom is not so well known, although there is more interest there now because of the connection with me.''
Inamoto struggled in his first season, ending up on loan at Cardiff City before returning and doing better the following term. He stil left in 2006, though, and would spend time in Turkey, Germany and France before returning to his home country in 2010.
After spells with Kawasaki Frontale, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and SC Sagamihara, the final years of his career were spent at Nankatsu SC, a Japanese fifth-tier club. He would finish his career with 82 caps for Japan, having played club football right up until the ripe old age of 45.
Stats via Transfermarkt - as of 06-12-24.
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