View From The Sphere

Arsenal legend’s two cents on German whiz-kid

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Julian DraxlerThe pursuit of Julian Draxler this transfer window has become very public in the last fortnight or so, which has left the majority of the Arsenal faithful excited at the prospect of seeing the 20-year-old arrive at the Emirates before tonight’s deadline.

It’s believed the Schalke playmaker has a release clause of around £37 million and Arsene Wenger has been mulling over whether or not he should activate it now or wait until the end of the season.

However, with the apparent and current lack of options upfront, the fans will be urging Le Boss to pay top dollar and land one of Europe’s most raved about youngsters before the window shuts.

Although he is a talented act, about six days ago I wrote and article asking whether we really need him and if he is actually worth his price-tag – needless to say, I got some mixed responses on the matter.

Regardless of his quality, £37 million for someone so young looks ludicrous and will not doubt be viewed as a massive gamble should Wenger make the move.

Draxler is not the finished article by any means, but the potential is there and when Martin Keown was asked whether the Gunners need him and if the German is worth his value, the former Arsenal centre-back had this to say:

‘There is a lot of talk about this young man, and he’s clearly very talented. But there are question marks over what his best position is and the idea that Arsene Wenger might convert him into a striker.

‘So to pay £37million is quite a risk given those uncertainties. With Mesut Ozil, you knew exactly what you were going to get, but this would be more of an experiment. There is always a risk with young players as to whether they will fulfil their potential, which he has undoubtedly got, but he must be a special player to command that kind of transfer fee.

‘The bar has been raised in terms of what you pay for players, but Arsenal seem to be raising it even higher. Man United just paid similar money for the finished article in Juan Mata, but Draxler is still young and developing. But clearly the financial mould is changing at Arsenal with the new kit deal, so perhaps bigger spending is a sign of things to come.’

Keown finished off by saying:

‘There are few better people to trust with these decisions than Arsene Wenger.’

We desperately need personnel as we approach a horrible run of games and although it looks a ridiculous fee to pay for a potential star in the making, perhaps it worth rolling the dice on this one.

Besides, like Keown said, ‘there are few better people to trust with these decisions than Wenger’.

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