What happened to Ryo Miyaichi: the former Japanese wonderkid who ran 100m in 10.6 seconds

Since its inception in 1992, only 16 Japanese players have appeared in the Premier League, including Ryo Miyaichi – the former Arsenal winger who was once dubbed 'Ryondinho'.

Miyaichi was still a teenager when he joined the Gunners in January 2011 but unlike many others, he was not signed from a professional club.

The previous year, Miyaichi was still playing for his high school team in Chukyo, with the team advancing to the prestigious All Japan High School tournament before being knocked out in the first round.

Still, he impressed and secured a summer trial at Arsenal, who were suitably impressed by his talents.

The 19-year-old joined the Premier League side in January 2006 but because he was unable to obtain the necessary paperwork, having not represented Japan's senior side, Miyaichi was loaned to Dutch side Feyenoord.

Here, the highly-rated winger became a fan favourite in Rotterdam after scoring three goals in 12 appearances and was promptly given the nickname ‘Ryondinho', a nod to Brazil legend Ronaldinho.

"I felt very accepted by the supporters at Feyenoord. I appreciated that nickname," he said. "When it comes to comparing Ronaldinho and myself, there is still a world of difference, but I will try my best to get close to him."

Wenger was full of praise for Miyaichi on his arrival at Arsenal. Image credit: Getty

Six months later, Miyaichi was granted a work permit to play for Arsenal ahead of the 2011/12 campaign, on the grounds of being an "exceptional talent".

An FA panel agreed to grant the documentation after hearing from Arsene Wenger, as well as a letter of recommendation from Japan's Football Association.

Wenger went on to praise Miyaichi's ability. "He has good balance and phenomenal pace, and his passing and crossing is consistently of a high quality," the Arsenal manager said at the time. "He is a very exciting player."

His pace was arguably his biggest strength. At Arsenal, Miyaichi clocked a remarkable time of 10.6 seconds over 100 metres, according to The Mirror.

The winger went on to make five appearances for Arsenal's first team and showed glimpses but ultimately, he struggled to break into Wenger's side and was loaned out five times before leaving in 2015.

In fact, most of his appearances in the Premier League came during his loan spell with Bolton in 2011-12, after he featured on 12 occasions under Owen Coyle, who praised his "tremendous promise".

“I would love to have signed him permanently but Arsenal would not let that happen," Coyle said in 2012. "In Ryo’s case his ­ambition is to go back to Arsenal and into their first team. He has enough to do that."

Miyaichi spent the following season on loan at Wigan and struggled for regular minutes, but he still managed to make his debut for the Japan national team in May 2012 against Azerbaijan.

Eventually, a Premier League appearance for Arsenal finally arrived in a 3-1 win over Stoke City in 2013, although his journey in North London was put to a permanent end in 2015 following loans at FC Twente and Jong Twente.

Ryo Miyaichi has overcome three ACL injuries in his career

Miyaichi joined Bundesliga 2. side FC St. Pauli in the summer of 2015, although in a moment that ultimately hindered his career, he tore his left ACL just a week before the start of the season.

Injury problems have continued ever since. In fact, after rupturing his right knee in the summer of 2017, he missed 104 games across a six-year spell and managed to complete 90 minutes just once.

Unfortunately, Miyaichi's career has been plagued by injuries. A year after joining Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos in 2021, he suffered his third ACL rupture and was forced to have surgery on his right knee.

The 33-year-old is still with the J1 League side and has made 135 appearances for Yokohama, but you have to wonder what could have been had it not been for injuries.