Arsenal: 5 Reasons Ryo Miyaichi Will Thrive Next Season

"The way (Ryo) is playing, there are full backs out there now who are thinking, 'I don't want to play against him this week'."

To hear Theo Walcott tell it, Arsenal will have yet another potent option to add to their burgeoning attack force (okay, so it was sputtered against QPR, but still) next season.

Ryo Miyaichi, the 19-year-old Japanese winger, was sent to Bolton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the season on Jan. 31, the last day of the winter-transfer window.

He proved an immediate hit for Bolton, scoring in his first FA Cup appearance against Millwall back in February with a goal that was eerily reminiscent of some of Thierry Henry's finer strikes for Arsenal.

Miyaichi has gone on to make six league appearances for Bolton, providing two assists and making himself an integral part of the team framework.

He is often used as an outlet on the wing, where his speed makes him a constant threat—the kind that Walcott knows well from his own experience, and can recognize as well.

He takes corners from both sides. And perhaps it's that insight into his technical ability, which Owen Coyle obviously notices, that will prove his greatest asset once he's back in an Arsenal shirt.

Not yet out of his teens, and only a few years removed from playing school football, Miyaichi has a long way to go yet as a footballer. That much is obvious.

What is also evident, however, is that he is the sort of transcendent talent who has proven his mettle at high levels of professional football.

All that remains now is for him to do it at the Emirates; a prospect that is looking ever more likely with each impressive performance for Bolton.

Here are five things Ryo can bring to Arsenal as early as next season.

Link-Up Play

Miyaichi has made it a habit during games with Bolton to bring his strikers in on the action by way of neat little one-twos on the edge of the area.

Whether it's David Ngog or Kevin Davies, playing off a striker seems to come naturally to Miyaichi, who also possesses a near-astounding (at times) sense of balance as he barrels toward the end line.

For someone so slight, he gets in a high number of his crosses without deflections.

Given Arsenal's 4-2-3-1 formation, where the two wingers are called upon to involve both their full-backs, the central attacking midfielders and the central forward in on the action, Miyaichi looks like he'll be able to fit into that philosophy seamlessly.

Technical Prowess on the Wing

Of course it helps when you're playing against lesser competition, but everyone's got to start somewhere, right?

Miyaichi has shown an ability to shine at every level of football he's played at so far. And while his pace obviously has its benefits, he has that uncanny ability to combine it with a deadly sense for picking out narrow pockets of space on the pitch. When he finds one, he fires into it with a ruthless injection of speed.

There are few I've seen who can erase defenders with such regularity.

But like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Miyaichi combines his natural gift of speed with a technical ability that is almost beyond his years.

He takes corners from the right and left for Bolton, he displays sensational first touches out on the wing. In all, he shows all the technical components Arsene Wenger would hope for.

And given the number of times we've seen Gervinho or Theo Walcott's first touch let them down this season, Miyaichi has to be viewed as a potential relief option.

Who knows, he may even replace either of those two as early as next season.

A 'Smart' Motor

In his eight appearances for Bolton, Miyaichi has gone the full 90 minutes on four occasions. (He came on as a second-half substitute in his first appearance and was subbed off in the final 15 minutes in each of the other three matches.)

While it's tough to go by just the numbers, that statistic is heartening.

Despite his youth, and despite his propensity to play by way of speed, Miyaichi has not spent himself through lurching runs and daring attacks to the point where he is cooked after an hour on the pitch.

He knows when and where to employ his natural gifts; something rarely seen from someone his age.

It says something about a 19-year-old when he already has that as part of his arsenal.

Deceptive Physicality

Put simply, it's very difficult to knock Miyaichi off the ball once he gets going.

And that doesn't just hold true on offense: Miyaichi does a fantastic job of tracking back on the flanks and helping out his full-back.

He doesn't content himself with staying in front of his attacker either, frequently looking to engage in tough tackles.

He runs at defenders leaning forward almost—the sort of balance that would appear more precarious than sturdy.

But it's effective, and he knows how to use it to his benefit.

Good Finisher

That goal against Millwall seems to be just a glimmer of what we'll see from Miyaichi in the future.

The youngster has a knack for finding the back of the net. When he finds himself in the goalmouth area, it's as if a sixth sense takes over.

Perhaps there was a reason he wore No. 9 back in Japan.

Goals haven't exactly flowed from the wing this season, with the exception of Theo Walcott in recent games.

Thus, having Miyaichi as a goalscoring threat—coupled with his ability to set them up as well—makes for quite the intriguing "embarras de choix" for M. Wenger ahead of next season when he sets his first-team lineup.