Arsenal stars current and past took their place front and centre on Saturday, as Japan secured a memorable victory over Germany.
Die Mannschaft marked their return to action a short time ago.
Amid ongoing preparations ahead of the country’s hosting of next summer’s European Championships, Hansi Flick’s troops welcomed the aforementioned Japan to the Volkswagen Arena, for a friendly clash.
Winless in their last four outings dating back to March, though, when all was said and done late this evening, Germany’s woes only continued to mount.
This came as a rampant Japan sauntered their way to an eventual 4-1 triumph.
After Leroy Sane cancelled out Junya Ito’s opener inside 20 minutes, Ayase Ueda swiftly guided the visitors back into the lead.
🎙️ “That is that!”
Kubo squares to Asano who scores for the visitors and makes it 3-1 👊
Germany just can’t handle Japan 🔥🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/WpFvl2cmma
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) September 9, 2023
As alluded to above, heavy focus was on a pair of current Gunners stars throughout the clash, too, as Kai Havertz went head-to-head with teammate Takehiro Tomiyasu.
And, safe to say, when all was said and done it was the latter who came out very much on top.
Tomiyasu, for his part, enjoyed a superb showing at the heart of Japan’s backline, providing a reminder to boss Mikel Arteta of his underrated versatility.
Standing ovation for Takehiro Tomiyasu 👏pic.twitter.com/U00ITvpqIC
— Gooner Chris (@ArsenalN7) September 9, 2023
Havertz, on the other hand, struggled once more to make his presence felt, amid what is fast becoming an alarming stretch of form for the one-time Bayer Leverkusen talent.
European Qualifiers Free Tips, Odds and Free Betting Offers – 10 September
