Why Arsenal would be a good fit for PSG midfielder Julian Draxler

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

PSG could be set to dump a number of first team players in the January transfer window after new manager Mauricio Pochettino has deemed them surplus to demand. 

According to L’Equipe, the Ligue 1 champions are looking to offload a number of squad players, including Julian Draxler, Leandro Paredes, Idrissa Gueye, Ander Herrera and Thilo Kehrer. 

However, while none of these players may have made the grade at the Parc des Princes, a number of them could be of some use to other top clubs in Europe. 

In particular, Draxler is an attacking midfielder who could excel at Premier League side Arsenal, who are desperately on the hunt for a new playmaker this month. 

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Why would Arsenal want to sign Draxler?

With just two goals and one assist in nine appearances for PSG this season, it’s easy to dismiss Draxler as a player of any stand-out quality. 

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the German midfielder has spent much of this season recovering from a hamstring injury and when we look beyond that we find a perfectly decent record in Paris. 

For example, last season he picked up five assists in 11 league games and in the campaign before that he bagged a further eight. 

In fact, in 149 games for the French giants Draxler has scored 30 goals and picked up a further 29 assists. Not bad when we consider that most of those appearances involved him coming on as a sub and often playing second fiddle to PSG’s all-conquering front line. 

It’s the midfielder’s ability to score and create goals either from an inside forward role on either wing or as a central midfielder that should interest Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. 

The Premier League side are in desperate need of a playmaker who can comfortably create goals for Arsenal’s front line but also a player that has the talent to score from range or late runs into the box. And that’s exactly what Draxler can do. 

Add to that the player’s current contract at PSG now entering its final six months and it would make sense for Arteta’s side to enquire over the availability of Draxler either on an initial loan or a straight-forward transfer on a reduced fee.