Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Julian Draxler and Mario Lemina Rumours

Arsenal will reportedly miss out on Wolfsburg midfielder Julian Draxler, with the Germany international said to be moving closer to French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

That’s according to Neil Moxley of the Sunday People, who has stated that despite being “scouted by the Gunners repeatedly during the past couple of seasons” the only offer for him so far comes from the French capital. “He now looks set to join them instead of heading for north London,” the piece continued.

As noted by Moxley, Draxler recently expressed his desire to leave Wolfsburg after just one season.

Having burst onto the scene at Schalke 04 earlier in his career, Draxler is considered to be one of the brightest prospects in European football. Here is a look at why:

The interest from Arsenal is understandable. The 22-year-old is elegant with the ball at his feet, weaving his way into dangerous pockets on the pitch with menace. Draxler has a burst of pace to push past a defender, although he’s also adept at taking his time to pick dangerous passes when opponents stand off.

In his first season at Wolfsburg there were some inconsistencies in Draxler’s game; these numbers from WhoScored.com illustrate the kind of threat he’s posed over a sustained spell, though:

Although Draxler has expressed his intention to move on this summer, getting him out of Wolfsburg will seemingly be difficult for Arsenal, PSG or anyone else. Indeed, the club’s sporting director Klaus Allofs told Sport1 (h/t Stephen Turner of Sky Sports) recently the German would “100 per cent” be staying at the club.

It means that a massive amount of money would be needed to even convince the Bundesliga side to consider a sale. PSG are a club flush enough to potentially sanction that kind of capital going on such a player. Arsenal, with so many options in the attacking-midfield spots, would surely have second thoughts.

Arsenal's Mario Lemina Offer

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According to Calciomercato (h/t the Daily Telegraph), Arsenal have already made their move for Juventus’ young midfielder Mario Lemina, lodging a bid of €16 million (£13.83 million).

It’s stated that offer was knocked back by the Italian champions, as they seek to secure €20 million (£17.3 million) at least for the 22-year-old. As well as the Gunners, Bundesliga side Schalke are also said to be keen to secure the Gabon international.

Lemina does find himself in an intriguing position with the Bianconeri. Despite the sale of Paul Pogba to Manchester United, Juve are strong in the midfield positions, with the likes of Miralem Pjanic, Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio and more all set to battle for starting spots in the XI this term.

It means Lemina, who only joined Juve permanently this summer, may find minutes tough to come by. There’s a reason the Serie A side worked hard to bring the youngster to the club, though. Here’s what he can offer:

The base of Arsenal’s midfield was previously a major concern, although the capture of Granit Xhaka, coupled with the emergence of Francis Coquelin, has given manager Arsene Wenger a greater scope of options in this area. Lemina, as a technical and dynamic presence in the middle of the park, would add something, too.

It would be understandable if Lemina did have concerns about his future, especially having only made seven Serie A starts last term on loan in Turin. However, he’d be far from guaranteed a starting spot if he was to rock up at the Emirates Stadium; if he’s going to depart Juventus, he must be given assurances when it comes to minutes played.