Arsenal Loan Watch: Ryo Miyaichi Starts, Scores for Bolton in FA Cup

For Arsenal fans spending their Saturday in an unlit room, scouring their mental recesses for some snippet of good news amidst the burgeoning gloom growing from their side's hapless display against Sunderland, this is for you.

With eyes now cast firmly toward the (Arsene-less?) future, one of the players likely to be a part of it had himself quite a game on Saturday.

In his first start for Bolton since moving there on loan a month ago, Ryo Miyaichi scored his side's first goal in a 2-0 victory over Millwall in the FA Cup fifth round.

Heck, at this rate Miyaichi might want to stay at Bolton, where he has a better chance of winning trophies than he does at Arsenal at the moment.

OK, all jokes aside, I'm serious. (I'm also still somewhat delirious from watching the Arsenal game, so blame them, not me. K, I'm done. Seriously.)

Miyaichi took his fourth-minute goal superbly, latching onto a long ball on the left edge of the penalty area. His concise first touch took him in on goal and helped him stay ahead of his defender before he sent a delightful side-footed shot past Steve Mildenhall.

It was a strike eerily reminiscent of some of Thierry Henry's best during his time as a Gunner.

Miyaichi's pace was electric, his control immaculate, his finish top-drawer. It was, in every sense of the phrase, a vintage Henry goal.

At this rate, Arsene Wenger might just deem it prudent to cut his young charge's loan deal short and bring him back to the Emirates, where Theo Walcott's production has gone missing.

While that is an unlikely scenario—Gervinho has just returned to the club from the African Cup of Nations, making for a very cluttered winger cupboard—Arsenal fans must take some heart that Miyaichi once again looks likely to excel while playing first-team football.

As many remember, he was superb for Feyenoord last season during his loan deal with the Eredivisie club.

Miyaichi had come on as a substitute for Bolton last weekend against Wigan Athletic, which was his first appearance for the club.

One must think that with Miyaichi's pace bolstering Bolton's attack, Wanderers boss Owen Coyle is feeling far more confident about his chances of surviving a relegation battle.

Bolton currently sit 19th in the league.