Takuma Asano has recalled the brief time he spent at Arsenal and what caused him to leave ahead of hoping to seal a European qualification spot with Mallorca.
The Japan international, now 30, joined the Gunners back in 2016 but issues over a work permit prevented him from playing one single minute in north London. As he was able to rebuild his career in Germany with Stuttgart and at Bochum in Germany before joining Mallorca, Asano seemingly has no regrets over how things played out at Arsenal.
"I think every experience makes me [who I am] now and I always look to the future and what I want to be as a player," he told Mirror Football. "But I need to focus on now, at the moment, always, and I try to be professional at every moment. Every experience like that makes it for me."
Though he recalls only being at the club for roughly 72 hours, Asano remembers the time spent there fondly which included a moment with Alexis Sanchez he will never forget.
"I was in Arsenal for three days or something like that, to sign the contract and then to say hello to everyone," he said. "I trained just one day in Arsenal and after that I went to Stuttgart, I couldn't get a permit for England. It was unlucky for me but everything is connected to [where i am] now.
"Honestly, I wanted to play for Arsenal but I couldn't, but it was a good experience for me. I could look at a top team, the atmosphere, the stadium, everything. It was a really good experience and also makes me what I am.
"In that time I was 21 years old and I saw stars, everyone is a star at Arsenal, you know. I remember I was standing alone and Alexis Sanchez came to me.
"He didn't say anything to me but we passed each other. I also couldn't speak English, I didn't know any words, but just to pass with Alexis Sanchez was also a good experience for me and I always talk about that to my friends and my family."
Looking to the present, Asano and his teammates are now targeting a spot in next season's Europa Conference League with a La Liga clash against Real Madrid up next.
"For me, every game is the same," Asano admitted when asked about the upcoming challenge. "I know the next game is against Real Madrid and it is of course a difficult game, it's really not easy for us. But on the other hand we have a possibility to win if we play at 100 percent, if we can play well.
"We just need to focus about us playing 100 percent, doing what we can do. I don't care about the next game after Real Madrid, I just need to focus against Real Madrid. After that it's the same."
With his former club beating Madrid twice already this season, Asano will be hoping to play a role in a shock victory for Mallorca that takes them one step closer to Europe.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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