Could Julian Draxler be a fit for Arsenal?

It seems there isn’t a summer that goes by without a Julian Draxler to Arsenal link. Ever since the German attacking midfielder burst onto the scene with Schalke, there have been links to the Gunners, with Arsene Wenger a known admirer of him. In his early career in Gelsenkirchen, he caught the attention of many of Europe’s elite and looked to be destined for greatness. None of the top clubs followed through a move for him and his career stalled with a mixture of injuries and a loss of form. Last summer saw him finally leave the Veltins Arena, but not to one of the long talked about admirers, but to VFL Wolfsburg for €35m, a German club with money and ambition, but not one of Europe’s big boys.

After a decent, but far from spectacular season at Wolfsburg, Draxler decided the time had come to move on and in a recent interview with German newspaper Bild, he said he told Wolfsburg and their coach Dieter Hecking of his intention to leave a couple of days after being a part of Germany’s exit from the Euros at the hands of France in the semi-final. He also insisted that when he joined Wolfsburg, he had a verbal agreement that he would be allowed to leave this summer if a big club wanted him.

Rumours quickly circulated in Germany that Draxler’s representatives were talking to Arsenal and Juventus, with Arsenal being his preferred destination. However, Wolfsburg have insisted that they have no intention to sell their star attacking asset, particularly just a year after they signed him to replace Kevin De Bruyne and in the same summer as they have lost Andre Schürrle to Borussia Dortmund and Max Kruse to Werder Bremen. That being said, a sizeable bid, with rumours of €60m being talked about, might just be enough to tempt Wolfsburg, considering Draxler’s desire to depart.

The attraction of Draxler is clear, his ability to carry the ball, the technique, the change of pace and his goal threat have made him a potential superstar since he first grabbed the attention at Schalke. He seems to have been around a while, but is still only 22 years old and with his physical stature and talent, remains a player ready to be moulded and maybe move to the next level.

If a deal to Arsenal can be done, where would he fit in at The Emirates? As seen this summer for Germany and at both Wolfsburg and Schalke, Draxler’s natural position is a wide attacking one, but it is felt by some that he could be the ideal fit to play the ‘false 9’ position. With Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez to call on, perhaps using Draxler in that role could facilitate a 4-3-3 for Arsenal, with Granit Xhaka and Santi Cazorla sitting and perhaps allowing someone like Aaron Ramsey to make forward runs. That would certainly be an option for Arsenal in Champions League games, where the extra man in midfield is often required, whilst allowing Arsenal the fluidity and flexibility to utilise a less static attacking formation.

With Arsenal also heavily linked with striker’s, it could just as easily mean Draxler would settle into one of the wide attacking midfield roles in the 4-2-3-1 that Arsenal typically play. He and Alexis Sanchez can easily play either side of Özil to support whoever is up front for the Gunners. Another alternative, could even be Sanchez moving into a central attacking role with Draxler out wide, should a deal for a striker fall through. I’m not sure how Arsenal fans would feel about that, but it would certainly be an option and Sanchez is no stranger to playing further forward.

Whatever the permutations, should Arsene Wenger be able to do what would likely be a club record deal for German star Draxler, there should be no doubting of his ability to fit into this Arsenal side and potentially make a significant impact and contribution.