Arsenal: Julian Draxler crossroads can breed Gunner glory

Arsenal’s link to Julian Draxler has died, but as the German is now biting too far up the food chain with Barcelona, it’s time to swoop.

I used to go mental over Arsenal’s link to Julian Draxler. I hated it. He was so far from what we needed that I would root for him to go other places. At the time of our 4-2-3-1, we needed a winger and Draxler was no such thing.

He was a creative attacking midfielder who had only ever found employment on the wings, where he would create from wide angles.

Now that the Gunners utilize a 3-5-2-1 and have two slots for creative attacking midfielders, I could not be more on board to see Draxler become a Gunner. Unfortunately, now that I am on board, the rumors have gone silent.

According to reports from the Metro, Draxler is not happy at the lack of assurances from PSG and wants to move to Barcelona, who have just sent Neymar, arguably the greatest player in the world, the opposite direction.

I am a big fan of what Draxler does, but he is not at the level of Neymar. As such, this is what we call biting too far up the food chain. Barcelona are looking at dynamic players that can fill the shoes of their former Brazilian and have sounded out Ousmane Dembele and even *gasp* Thomas Lemar. But Draxler is a different kind of player entirely.

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That’s why Arsenal needs to swoop. Draxler isn’t one of those guys who gushes over the possibility of playing for Barcelona. He never has. So it’s not like this reported desire to move has anything to do with a love for the Catalans. He just wants to prove himself.

Which the Gunners can provide.

Draxler hasn’t been able to latch onto consistent play time throughout his still-young career, and that has undoubtedly led to a bit of antsy-ness on his part, because you can see how talented the young man is. He just needs a platform.

I often voice my displeasure at Arsenal being used as a stepping stone, like they would have been for Kylian “Give me Real Madrid” Mbappe, but Draxler looks like a different situation. He doesn’t want any particular team, he wants to proof himself personally.

Which is dangerous, of course, look at what Alexis Sanchez is now doing from having entered in a similar situation. But there is plenty at Arsenal to keep Draxler interested once he arrives. Mesut Ozil is here, for instance, and you have to believe that the club is on the up and could re-enter the international battle arena while Draxler is here.

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From there, the work is done. The platform is set and Draxler and Arsenal both are happy campers.

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