Ryo Miyaichi says his loan spell at Wigan Athletic has edged him closer to realising his dream of becoming a first-team regular at Arsenal.
The Japanese winger spent most of the season at the DW Stadium before returning south to recover from the ankle ligament injury he suffered during an FA Cup tie at Everton in March.
"They have a good attitude and a good philosophy for football"
Ryo Miyaichi
Ryo was restricted to seven appearances for Wigan but he has taken plenty of positives from his time with the Latics - and he hopes they win their battle for Premier League survival.
"They have a good attitude and a good philosophy for football," Ryo told Arsenal Player.
"The manager [Roberto Martinez] is a very good man and it was a very good experience for me. Most of the time I was injured. I couldn't play a lot of games and I couldn't show my quality. It was disappointing for me but I'm so appreciative to the Wigan supporters, the Wigan manager and the Wigan players. It was a very good experience.
"Being there helped me to grow up. As a person, I'm growing up every day. When I was at Wigan the training was very good and the people are very kind so I got some good experience there. I feel I'm improving but I need to keep working hard."
Martinez declared recently that Ryo has "an incredible future" in football and the 20-year-old hopes he can begin to show his worth in an Arsenal shirt this summer.
"It's great to hear that [kind of compliment] and I'm so appreciative," said Ryo. "I'm always ready to play for Arsenal. It's my dream to play for Arsenal. First of all, I have to recover as soon as possible. Then I want to show my quality when I get fit.
"My ankle is getting better so I'm comfortable at the moment. My target is to be there [on the Asia tour] so I think I can be fit in pre-season."
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