I've always thought that Serge Gnabry's emergence would signal the end for Ryo Miyaichi at Arsenal. Now the 18-year-old German is putting pen to paper on a new deal, so the older winger (I.e. Ryo) may have to take a back seat for much longer, if he wants to stay at the Emirates.
Ryo is undoubtedly the quicker of the two, as he is reportedly the second fastest man at Arsenal (only behind Theo Walcott when it comes to sprinting). But, and here comes the crucial statistic, Gnabry is younger and already a Premier League goalscorer. Not only that, Gnabry has a lower centre of gravity and is hard to knock off the ball. He appears to be more confident that Ryo and, possibly, hungrier to succeed.
Ryo's attitude is commendable and he always seems to put the team first, but he seems to suffer from 'nice guy syndrome': he's a gentleman to a fault. He's happy to celebrate Arsenal's goals from the bench because, in true Japanese fashion, he puts the team before his own interests. When he has a chance to shoot, he'd rather pass to a team-mate. That's why Ryo will only score when there's just one option: to shoot.
Ryo's been conspicuous by his absence lately. He's not even on the bench.
Perhaps he'll get one last chance to stake a claim against Chelsea tonight. It could be make or break for him. Good luck, Ryo!
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