It's an uphill battle for Junichi Inamoto.
At the beginning of the J. League season, Japan national team coach Philippe Troussier urged his players to gain experience playing for teams abroad as opposed to wallowing in the relative comforts of the J. League. His hope was for his players to toughen up and to be exposed to different styles of play. His ultimate intention was for his key players to improve their games ahead of the World Cup to be cohosted by Japan and Korea next year.
His advice did not fall on deaf ears. Shinji Ono packed his bags and boarded a plane for the relative unknowns of the Dutch First Division, joining 1999 Dutch champion Feyenoord; Naohiro Takahara was shipped off to Boca Juniors in Argentina; and Akinori Nishizawa and Junichi Inamoto tossed a few umbrellas into a suitcase and flew to England joining Premier league clubs Bolton Wanderers and Arsenal, respectively.
Of these four players, the task facing Inamoto appears to be toughest.
He is faced with the prospect of trying to break into the midfield of one of Europe's strongest teams - the Gunners boasting a midfield containing the likes of Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Freddie Ljungberg - all established internationals in their own right. This coupled with a self-confessed inability to understand the language, the bitter rivalry that exists between London soccer clubs (probably a good thing he can't understand the language) and the glare of the expectant Japanese media watching his every move, make for a combination of factors that would be enough to frighten any 22-year-old.
With this background in mind, I ventured over to London to see how he was coping -- Nishizawa's agents for some reason flatly refusing to let anyone speak to their client. Finding Highbury (Arsenal's home ground) was a mission in itself. Pedestrians refused to give directions if they were Tottenham fans (Arsenal's North London rival) as they did not want to have anything to do with the "scum," and Tony Adams (Arsenal's captain) almost ran me over in his convertible Jaguar (might have expected him to have learned his lesson by now, having spent four months behind bars for wrapping his car around a lampost after an all-day drinking session in 1990).
QUESTION: How are you handling communication within the team and with the coaching staff?
INAMOTO (through translator): I couldn't understand anything at first but I am slowly picking it up and I am understanding more and more as time passes. Sometimes I understand what people are saying and sometimes I don't.
Q: Since Arsene Wenger (Arsenal manager) has a connection with Japan, having coached Nagoya Grampus Eight for two seasons in 1995 and 1996, has he helped you in any way or given you any particular advice on how to cope with the English game?
A: He hasn't even spoken to me yet! (Laughs)
Q: In that case, have any of the players advised or helped you?
A: There is a great team spirit in the squad and every player helps each other. I've received a warm reception here but I have not had any special treatment.
Q: Is there a big difference between the training methods employed at Arsenal and those used in Japan?
A: The only real difference is in the players - but as for the methods they are pretty much the same.
Q: How about any perceived differences between the English game and the game as it is played in Japan?
A: Speed. When I say speed, I mean speed of everything. The English game is very fast and you have very little time on the ball.
Q: Have you managed to adapt to the pace of the game and can you notice any improvements in your play in the month that you have been here?
A: Yes, I feel that I can play a more attacking and aggressive role than previously. I have also learned to hold the ball and be stronger on the ball than before. I believe that I am improving little by little . . . I couldn't be worse than I was before!!!
Q: You've scored a few goals playing for the reserves. Do you see yourself as an attacking midfielder?
A: Definitely. I want to play with a view to scoring goals.
Q: Having made a good start playing for the reserve team, do you have a particular goal, as in a particular time frame, within which you would like to be playing in the first team?
A: Well I have heard from the Japanese press that I am expected to make the side within three months but I haven't heard anything from the manager. For me, it is not really a question of any particular time frame. I am just focusing on training very hard, keeping my head down and doing my best.
Q: Let's say, for example, that you didn't manage to break into the side at all this season. Would you consider going back to Japan or would you move to another team in England?
A: It's up to Arsenal to decide if they want to get rid of me or not. For now, I have no intention of moving back to Japan.
Q: What is it about Arsenal that would make you accept playing reserve-team soccer when you would probably be playing first-team soccer somewhere else?
A: Before I came to Arsenal, I knew what the situation would be like. The challenge for me is to make myself a better player and I feel like I can do that at Arsenal.
Q: Finally, what influence do you think English soccer has had on the structure of Japanese soccer through the likes of Wenger, Gary Lineker and Steve Perryman?
A: (Looking bemused and stuck for an answer) It's been great to have players and coaches of their experience imparting their knowledge of the game on Japanese soccer. These guys have experience of the top leagues in Europe, so that has been good.
In the week since this conversation, Inamoto made an unexpected appearance as a second-half substitute in a Champions League game against Schalke 04, coming on for the last 15 minutes and giving a good account of himself, according to reports.
The load on this young man's shoulders may seem great, but as it was the goal of Troussier to get his players to experience the culture of playing soccer abroad and to harden them both physically and mentally for the World Cup, the attitude of Junichi Inamoto should put a smile on his face.
Perhaps we will see Inamoto's name on the goalscorers' sheet for Arsenal in the near future and, more importantly, for Japan at next year's World Cup.