FRANKFURT — It's fair to say that if Junichi Inamoto had begun his European adventure at Eintracht Frankfurt instead of Arsenal his star would probably be shining that much brighter now.

A stepping-stone start at a smaller club than Arsenal would have been far more beneficial for a young Inamoto seven years ago.

But in 2001, Arsene Wenger saw enough in Gamba Osaka's young and dynamic defensive midfielder to bring him to London, this ahead of his star performances at the 2002 World Cup.