Playstyle
He was always compared to his successful older brother Igawa Hayato, and did his best to catch up with him but couldn't (Golden-23 arc, chapter 45, page 16).

Because he didn't want to be compared to him, he wanted to be to use his own soccer and developped the soccer of a rebel, he didn't want to show his weaknesses, so he bluffed more and more and was showing more than he was really capable of (Golden-23 arc, chapter 68, page 11).

Long shots
Gakuto can kick a bullet-like shot even with his non dominant leg (Golden-23 arc, chapter 71, pages 16 to 19) which may not be stopped by Paraguay's keeper (Golden-23 arc, chapter 72, pages 2-3).

Scoring with headers
Gakuto can score after overlapping with a bullet-like diving header against Australia on a cross from Misaki (Golden-23 arc, chapter 105, pages 9 to 19).

Passing with headers
Gakuto's bullet clear can reach a teammate, that can lead to a counter chance, though it isn't known if it's intentional or not, he did it once (Golden-23 arc, chapter 71, pages 2-4), then twice (Golden-23 arc, chapter 88, pages 12 to 15).

Overlap
He can overlap vigorously, with great dashing power (Golden-23 arc, chapter 71, pages 5 to 7).
He can also overlap during corner kicks (Golden-23 arc, chapter 91, pages 6-7, chapter 98, page 15).

Physical contact
He can resist to shoulder charges, and even repell a player like Paraguay's captain thanks to strong legs and loins trained with his brother (Golden-23 arc, chapter 71, pages 12 to 17).

Playstyle
At the time of the real Japan 11, Gakuto was even with Soga in high ball contests, in power with Hino, holding his own in technique against Yumikura, Kazami or Furukawa, and posessing speed as well (Golden-23 arc, chapter 33, pages 8-9).

However, maybe he was still bluffing about his abilities like before, although, rather than being weak, it was more of a lack of confidence, a "mental weakness", that made him run away when he was about to be exposed (Golden-23 arc, chapter 70, pages 3-4). Ironically, he eventually turned to his older brother to improve himself (Golden-23 arc, chapter 68, page 14), copied his play, used others' plays as reference, and asked others for advice for the first time to finally overcome his weakness (Golden-23 arc, chapter 70, page 14).

Foul play
Gakuto can be expelled by answering to provocations from Macbeth with violence (Golden-23 arc, chapter 80, page 14).

Marking
Gakuto can be surprised if Duviga is suddenly changing directions when running, shaking free from his marking (Golden-23 arc, chapter 107, page 8).

Igawa Gakuto can mark Kages, but the latter can still keep posession (Wish for peace in Hiroshima, part 1, page 16).

Although Igawa Gakuto and Soga may not be able to take the ball against Kages, they can still prevent him from using his turn around shot (Wish for peace in Hiroshima, part 2, page 19).

Headers and Jump
Gakuto can go for high ball contests to prevent the opponent from scoring on high balls, he can be nervous and almost score an own goal, but that happened only once (Golden-23 arc, chapter 69, pages 2 to 9). He can win against Tolavert, Paraguay's n°11 and can clear the ball with his bullet clear (Golden-23 arc, chapter 70, pages 15 to 20). Still with his bullet clear, even in the endgame, he can clear the ball before Duviga, Alo Phard and Kranj (Golden-23 arc, chapter 112, pages 3 to 7).
He can also go for high ball contests to prevent the opponent from scoring during a corner kick, though he may not prevent Duviga from hitting the ball, he can still make him lose his balance so his header is off-target (Golden-23 arc, chapter 103, pages 14-15).
He can defeat Jito during high ball contests, though it was during a training and the latter was coming back from an injury (Golden-23 arc, chapter 83, pages 6 to 9).
Gakuto can clear an accurate, lobbing long feed from Shooker with his bullet clear before it can reach Duviga (Golden-23 arc, chapter 88, pages 8 to 13).

Defense
He can contribute to the defense along with the other members of the defense line to allow a keeper not to concede against a team like Paraguay (Golden-23 arc, chapter 71, page 13).
He can contribute to defense (Golden-23 arc, chapter 79, page 14).
Gakuto can clear the ball in front of player like Macbeth (Golden-23 arc, chapter 100, page 12).

He may not be able to prevent Kages from shooting his turn around shot (Wish for peace in Hiroshima, part 1, pages 16 to 18).

Saving
At the time of the real Japan 11, Gakuto was able to play as a goal keeper (Golden-23 arc, chapter 33, page 10), though that may have been a bluff as well.