Takuma Asano showed plenty of promise during his performance for loanee side VfB Stuttgart, as they prevailed with a slender 1-0 victory away at Kaiserslautern in Germany’s second division non Saturday.

The 21-year-old forward, who was refused a work permit to play in England, played 78 minutes and looked threatening in the final third alongside goalscorer Simon Terodde.

His movement, visual awareness and impressive dribbling were on-show for supporters at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion and although he began to tire towards the latter stages, it’s understandable given his exploits with Japan at last month’s Rio Olympic tournament – as well as the physical demands of settling into a new team.

Asano impressed at last month's Olympic Games in Rio - scoring against both Nigeria and Colombia in Group B, although Japan were knocked out. (Photo by Bruno Zanardo/Getty Images)
Asano impressed at last month’s Olympic Games in Rio – scoring against both Nigeria and Colombia in Group B, although Japan were knocked out. (Photo by Bruno Zanardo/Getty Images)

As a result of their slender victory, Stuttgart have moved up to 4th place in the league standings and are one of the favourites for promotion back to the Bundesliga this term.

He’ll be hoping for similar displays in future as he continues to settle into life in Germany, where Stuttgart could prove a beneficial environment for him to improve.

His long-term future could well be at the Emirates and although this is his first full season in European football, the attitude he’s shown so far is encouraging.