After the successful completion of the deal that brought in Petr Cech from Chelsea some weeks back, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger is still on the look out for more reinforcement for his squad.
Wenger plans to make a genuine title push next term and he knows he can only achieve his target with the addition of world class stars to his 2014-15 FA Cup-winning team.
Arsenal have been linked to several world-class stars this summer, with Man City’s Edin Dzeko and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema on the radar of the north London club.
However, Julian Draxler has emerged as the latest player Arsenal want to sign, and reports from Bild have confirmed that Schalke are willing to cash in on the Germany international.
The Bundesliga club are looking to sell Draxler and will likely bring in Xherdan Shaqiri, an ex-Bayern Munich player, as his replacement.
The 21-year old Schalke attacking midfielder has been constantly linked to the Gunners, and now, it seems, is when they will get their long-term target.
As per Metro, there were suggestions a £30 million deal was about to be struck by both clubs in May. Wenger is known to be a keen admirer of Draxler, and likened him last season to former Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie, as he is very capable of playing as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.
This is true to some extent as Draxler’s great hold-up play prowess is one of the qualities which stands him out, and this, it is believed, will be of immense benefit to the Gunners and they will no doubt enjoy him. The likes of speedsters, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez will relish the opportunity of having such player in the squad.
The arrivals of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez for £42million and £32million respectively is successive summers have proven that the Gunner boss can always loosen the purse strings for the ideal candidate.
Although, the Metro report confirmed that Juventus also want Draxler, it is believed that the versatile Germany ace want a move to the Premier League.
Chelsea were also thought to be eyeing him in the past after the player went into the Blues dressing room and took a picture with Didier Drogba, with a caption suggesting the Ivorian as his idol and Chelsea as a great club.
Draxler will therefore serve Arsenal well, with the aforementioned abilities he possesses. Arsene Wenger knows more than anyone else, how to utilise the Schalke attacker in the 4-5-1 formation, as he has done with Van Persie in the past.
The probable stumbling block to this transfer, however, may be the £28.7 million valuation of the player considering his recent struggles with injuries.