Losing Players And Clubs, Japanese National Team Stars At Arsenal Ask For The Asian Cup To Be Held In June

Japanese national team defender Takehiro Tomiyasu left Arsenal to appear in the 2023 Asian Cup (X/@Arsenal).

JAKARTA - The 2023 Asian Cup and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations have made European clubs lose players in the middle of the competition. The Japanese national team defender who plays at Arsenal, Takehiro Tomiyasu, hopes that the Asian Cup will be held in June-July 2024.

The Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations will be held in January-February 2024. This is a hassle for Asian and African players who don't want to lose the opportunity to defend the national team.

However, they also objected to leaving the club which was competing fiercely in the competition.

Tomiyasu was forced to leave Arsenal who are currently at the top of the 2023/2024 Premier League standings.

Despite losing twice to London Derby, Arsenal, who are ranked fourth, can still compete for the throne of the league standings. Now, Tomiyasu has to leave the club struggling in the competition.

Meanwhile, his colleague, Wataru Endo, must also leave Liverpool who are currently at the top of the standings. Both Tomiyasu and Endo are pillars in their respective clubs.

"I hope the 2023 Asian Cup will be played in June 2024. This is in line with the schedule in the European league," said Tomiyasu, who objected to the Asian Cup schedule in January-February 2024.

"I don't know the reason why we played in January 2024. Not only the Asian Cup, but also the Africa Cup of Nations. This is certainly not good for the players. However, whatever it is, I am still coming back and want to win the title," he said again.

The Asian Cup, for the third time, was held at the start of the year. As a result, Asian players who play in European clubs have lost their miss in the competition.

Arsenal, for example, will lose Tomiyasu for six games, four of which are in the Premier League.

The 2023 Asian Cup will be held in Qatar in January-February 2024 when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius. It also endangers players.

The Blue Samurai Team is included in Group D of the 2023 Asian Cup. They are predicted to have no difficulty passing through the group stage because they compete with Vietnam, Iraq, and Indonesia.