Over the summer clear links were formed between Arsenal and Julian Draxler. At one stage it had begun to look as though a big money move could be on the cards. In the end, however, the youngster’s huge price-tag (he’s believed to have a £40m price-tag) must have put Arsene Wenger off.
He opted to sign another expensive German instead, Mesut Ozil (who cost £42.4m!).
But something tells me that this won’t be the last we hear from young Draxler. Arsene Wenger has always had a thing for snapping up the best young footballers in Europe and the 20-year-old certainly ticks that box.
Just check out the following quotes from Draxler himself:
“I like English football. I like the Premier League of course – it’s one of the best leagues in the world. You have big clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea – of course it’s a big dream to play for one of them. I have my favourite team, but at the moment I’m at Schalke. I don’t want to talk about other clubs. If I state Arsenal or Manchester United, maybe I’d read it tomorrow in the newspapers.” (Source: The BBC)
I can’t help but feel that Draxler knows exactly what he’s doing here. He knows that if he name-checks the likes of Arsenal or Manchester United, there’ll be a news story the very next day. He’s feeding the rumour-mill and setting up a potential move in the future.
It’s interesting that he mentions Arsenal twice (and Manchester United, to be fair). It makes you think that perhaps the Gunners really did move in for him during the summer.
We saw him briefly when England took on (and were defeated by) German last Tuesday. He came on, showed some neat technique and offered a few effective touches. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really given enough time to show what he can do.
If you’ve been paying attention to the Bundesliga and have been watching Schalke 04’s exploits in the Champions League, Draxler will certainly have caught the eye. You certainly won’t have missed his stunning long-range effort in a recent game against FC Basel.
The German scamp is set for a big future. Whether this will be with Arsenal remains to be seen. I, for one, certainly hope so. Let’s see if Wenger’s ready to splash out on yet another German.
What’s your take? Do the Gunners really need another creative midfielder? Should they leave this one to get snapped up by one of their rivals? Is Julian Draxler too good to miss?
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