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German Attacker Claims He Snubbed €45m Arsenal Move
Julian Draxler has claimed that he snubbed a potential €45m move to Arsenal in January and has also ruled out the possibility of leaving Schalke this summer.
Draxler should be a name you are all familiar with as he was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal last summer and we renewed our interest in January.
It’s believed we held lengthy negotiations with Schalke during the winter window but the general consensus at the time was that a deal failed to happen as Arsene Wenger refused to meet the German clubs €45m (£36m) asking price.
However, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder has now claimed that there was an offer on the table from Arsenal in January but he chose to remain at Schalke and will do so again this summer as he wants to remain with the club for one more year.
“In January there was the offer of Arsenal, but I decided to stay,” Draxler told BBC Sport.
“I will do the same this summer. I want to play one year more in Schalke.”
Draxler told me post #GERPOR: "In Jan there was offer of #AFC but I decided to stay. Will do same this summer. I want 1 more yr in #Schalke"
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) June 17, 2014
It’s rare we ever find out the intimate details of transfer dealings so it’s always difficult to know what to believe but I have a feeling that if we had agreed a fee with Schalke, Draxler would be an Arsenal player now. Despite what he claims.
Obviously he’s not going to ruin his relationship with Schalke and their fans by admitting he wanted to leave, so it suits his agenda to claim he turned down a big-money move to remain at the club.
Either way, the move didn’t happen and it doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving this summer either. I just hope we don’t end up regretting not signing him as he’s a fantastic player who has the potential to be one of the best in the world.
Colin
June 17, 2014 at 12:06 pm
He hasn’t shown the big money quality yet, and I’m not sure that his form post injury would tempt a big team to make an offer this summer anyway. If he doesn’t show real quality next season he could be regretting the whole Arsenal saga.