Julian Draxler reveals how hard it was for him to reject a move to the Premier League (Arsenal).
While Arsenal were chasing a marquee signing throughout the Summer, they were also keeping an eye on Schalke’s rising star Julian Draxler. But Schalke’s asking price (more than 40M) acted as a road block for the Arsenal negotiators to go forward in the deal. This forced Arsenal to look elsewhere and they eventually signed Mezut Ozil from Real Madrid.
Even after the window was closed, new rumors suggest that Arsenal will try again in January to lure Julian Draxler to Emirates. Arsenal are also interested in Marco Reus and Lars Bender from Bundesliga.
In a recent interview, Draxler revealed how hard it was to resist a move to a club like Arsenal in order to protect his World cup dreams.
Draxler told Fifa’s website,
“The World Cup’s at the end of the season and you always need time to get used to a new team,”
“It was not an easy decision. You never know whether you will ever get such an offer again.
“In the end, I followed my heart and decided to remain at Schalke. On top of that, I’m convinced I’m at the right club with Schalke.
“We haven’t had a great start to the campaign and I was a bit disappointed after the first few games, but I think we took another important step forward after signing Kevin-Prince Boateng. We’ve got a strong team.”
Scouting Draxler (video),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhhikRJCksI