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Arsenal transfer analysis: How superstar Draxler could fit in Wenger’s side

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Wenger wants to bring in the £37m whizzkid, and turn him into the next Robin Van Persie…

Although it has been reported by the Daily Mail that a tendon injury could scupper Arsenal’s chances of signing Julian Draxler this January, the Mirror reckons the Gunners are still very keen on the 20-year-old, who has a £37m release clause.

If the Gunners were to bid the £37m, Schalke would be forced to accept, enabling Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal hierarchy the chance to tempt Draxler into a move to the Emirates.

But why are Arsenal so keen on the prodigal German? fanatix has analysed the player’s strengths and attributes, and how he could fit into an Arsenal side now, and in the future.

Draxler’s strengths, characteristics and positions:

Right now, Draxler is almost entirely used in an advanced position wide on the left for Schalke. In the style of most modern wide players though, he is more comfortable cutting in and linking up play with midfielders than he is beating his man on the outside and putting in crosses. His expert dribbling ability means he is more than capable of going past defenders though – it’s just that he often prefers to look for an intricate through ball instead.

Draxler’s main strengths are his dribbling, his ability to play a killer pass, and his ferocious, powerful shot. This means he can score from inside and outside the box, although he perhaps doesn’t shoot on goal as much as he should for someone with his talent. (He’s only had 23 strikes on goal all season in 20 appearances.)

Although he is relatively lightweight, Draxler is deceptively strong and rangy, and wins his far share of aerial duels. A criticism could be that he too often looks for a Hollywood final pass, when it perhaps would have been better to play it simply and retain possession.

Here’s some of Draxler’s best bits:

How would he fit into the Current Arsenal XI?

With Olivier Giroud performing admirably in the lone striker role, it’s unlikely that Arsenal will wish to push Draxler forward into the no.9 position Wenger apparently thinks the youngster will eventually fill.

(Both Robin Van Persie and Thierry Henry arrived at Arsenal as wide men, before being developed into world-class forwards.)

As a result of his age, and Giroud’s position in the side, Draxler will likely be used as a rotation option from the left in the early stages of his Arsenal career.

ArsenalDRAXLER - Football tactics and formations

With Draxler, Arsenal would have a wealth of attacking midfield options, including Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Serge Gnabry, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, the currently injured Theo Walcott, and Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky – who are also capable of playing further forward.

In the long run though, Draxler may take up the centre-forward role, as his quick feet and superb finishing arguably make him a more talented, frightening option than Giroud.

How Draxler might eventually fit into an Arsenal XI:

ArsenalDRAXLER2 - Football tactics and formations

This potential side sees some of Arsenal’s best young players drop into their natural, favoured position. Wenger reckons Oxlade-Chamberlain will eventually become a deeper, central midfielder, and it’s unknown whether Arteta or Flamini are genuine long-term options for the holding midfield role.

Wilshere wants to eventually be used as a no.10, meaning either Ozil, Gnabry or Walcott could be deployed in the wide spots, and Draxler could possibly be developed into a world-class striker.

Of course, this all very much conjecture, as Draxler’s injury may ruin Arsenal’s chances of signing him this January anyway. On top of this, he may prove unsuited to a centre-forward role, meaning he would have to compete with the current batch of Gunners stars for an attacking midfield spot.

Despite this, Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to show how excited they are regarding the possible transfer:

 

 

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