With the news breaking about the overseas pre-season tour to Malaysia in July to play their National team as revealed by Insider Wan this morning, following on disclosures by Eldo71 and the Daily Mirror, there is an opportunity to refresh our memories about this exciting wunderkind discovered by Arsene Wenger’s scouting network, following his explosion onto the world stage during the Under 17 FIFA World Cup championship tournament. Born in December 1992, he played soccer at his school before being fast tracked into his national youth side. This extremely talented 18 yr old who is 6ft tall was brought here on trial last summer and played in the pre-season friendlies against Boreham Wood and AFC Wimbledon.
He was an immediate hit and signed professional terms in January this year after his 18th birthday. Rio is blessed with all of the skills of a typical Wenger player. He has excellent close ball skills at speed with all of the tricks. He has the ability to shoot off either foot despite his preference for his left . His changes of pace are dynamic and breathtaking. He is utterly fearless in the tackle and when he plays he gives 100% effort on every occasion. He clearly has the potential to play behind the central striker, out wide on the wings or up front on his own, such is his versatility. He was sent out on loan to Feyenoord where he made his debut early this month. He recently scored a goal against Dutch side Heracles in the 18th minute, which again placed the young man under the spotlight. It is clear that Arsene Wenger rates him highly as he told Arsenal after the news of the signing.
“He impresses us and he impresses me with the quality of his movement, the quality of his game and, you will not be surprised, his attitude,” he said. “[He has] typical dedication, dedication to his job as usually Japanese people are and he shows us that in training.”
Here are the best videos of Rio (in my opinion) who is seen wearing either the number 7, 9, 34 or 20 and is clearly destined for a great Arsenal Career once his application for a work permit has been approved.
A short compilation Of Rio, remember to allow the video to load completely so as to enjoy uninterrupted viewing of the stream.
A longer compilation with good footage from his games at Feyenoord, followed by his debut goal where the entire stadium were singing his name after the game against Heracles, a feyenoord official has compared his potential to being in the same category as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo…
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