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Ryo Miyaichi
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Ryo Miyaichi
Send to a friendRyo Miyaichi (宮市 亮 Miyaichi Ryō?, born 14 December 1992) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Arsenal.
Early life
Miyaichi comes from a sporting family, with father Tatsuya being a former baseball player who played for and later managed the Toyota Motors baseball club, and brother Tsuyoshi also being a football player.[1] Miyaichi started playing football in his elementary school years at Sylphid F.C. in Nagoya.[2] He entered Chūkyōdai Chūkyō High School and played for the school football club. In the 2010 season, the team advanced to the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament but were defeated in the first round.[3][4]
[edit]Club career
[edit]Arsenal
Ryo first trained with Arsenal in the summer of 2010, where he impressed on a trial. However Arsenal decided against offering him a contract and Miyaichi travelled to Holland to go on trial with Ajax. His trial at Ajax was cut short when he suffered a leg break in a match. Arsene Wenger phoned him after the incident and informed him that they were impressed with his displays and subsequently offered him a contract with Arsenal FC. On January 31, 2011, he joined the club, and signed a professional contract. Arsène Wenger said: "We’re delighted that Ryo Miyaichi has joined us. He trialled with us in the summer and has raw ability which has attracted many clubs around the world".[5]
[edit]Loan to Feyenoord
Just after he signed for Arsenal, it was announced that he was set to join Feyenoord on loan. On February 5, he played his first game for Feyenoord, against Vitesse. He played the full 90 minutes and was named man of the match (the game ended 1–1).[6] Miyaichi played against Heracles Almelo and scored the opening goal and created the second for Feyenoord.[7] On April 17, 2011, Miyaichi scored two goals and contributed two assists in Feyenoord's 6-1 victory over Willem II, leading a revival after Feyenoord had conceded an early goal.[8] The Dutch media has recently given him the nickname "Ryodinho" after comparisons to Ronaldinho. He has also been branded the Japanese Messi.[9]
[edit]2011–12 season
As he returned to Arsenal after his loan spell at Feyenoord Miyaichi joined up with the first team for the pre-season training. He was included in the 23-man squad to tour Asia in the pre-season after impressing in training. Miyaichi made his pre-season debut against Malaysia All-Stars XI when starting the match before being substituted by Robin van Persie in the 66th minute.[10]
