Arsenal: The Gunners need Marco more than they need Julian

Modified Jan 26, 2014 23:22 GMT

Julian Draxler – the German Wünderkind who has been heavily speculated to swap shirt from FC Schalke 04’s blue to Arsenal’s red and white – looks likely to prolong his stay at the Gelsenkirchen as Arsène Wenger brought all speculations to a close, as reported by the Metro.

“It looks unlikely that we will sign anyone. We are not close to anything”.

It looks clear that Arsenal won’t be doing business this January. Yet with several days remaining before the transfer window is officially closed, anything can still realistically happen. And as we all know with the Frenchman, anything can happen and has a tendency of (intentionally) misleading the fans when it comes to transfer links.

Often enough Wenger has successfully surprised us by completing the transfers of some virtually unknown young players and making some big name signings on the deadline day. As we start to lose hope, then boom! Wenger makes a miracle happen, and it happened when we least expected it.

When I heard the rumor for the first time, I couldn’t hide my excitement. Draxler is good and he’s still very young. There’s so much room from improvement. No doubt about it. I would love to see him in Arsenal shirt. I really do. But Arsenal doesn’t have the unlimited amount of transfer funds. They can’t just splash big amount of money to get whoever they want.

Let’s say that Arsenal can only do one big-money signing. Rather than Draxler, I prefer to see Marco Reus completing a switch to the Emirates. Yes, Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund.

As last year’s Premier League campaign closed to its end I wrote an article for an Indonesian website, titled “Mengapa Marco Reus adalah Sosok yang Tepat untuk Akhiri Puasa Gelar Arsenal” or, in English, “Why Marco Reus is the Key to End Arsenal’s Premier League Trophy Drought”.

Marco Reus. Of all the best performers from last season, I picked Reus to be Arsenal’s messiah. The missing piece of Arsenal puzzle. Not Cristiano Ronaldo, not Franck Ribéry, not even the messiah himself; Lionel Messi. I picked Reus because I thought that he fits so well in the way Arsenal play their football. He’s also a humble player who puts the team’s goal over personal achievement. But above all, it’s Arsenal’s and Reus’ tendencies that make him the messiah for Arsenal.

Last season, Arsenal had the tendency to finish the game as a victor if they scored the first goal of the game. Interestingly, in the same time span, more often than not we saw Reus’ name as the game deadlock-breaker.

As I wrote the piece on the 24th of April last year, Arsenal had recorded twenty-six wins and twenty of which was claimed with the Gunners being the first team to score. Wenger’s men suffered eleven losses and in ten of them, their opponents were always the quickest to find the back of the net. It is fair to say that Arsenal didn’t too well on the back foot.

For Reus himself, last season, he scored twenty-one goals in sixteen different games for Dortmund and the Die Mannschaft. In those matches, he broke the deadlock in all but two matches, which could prove to be handy for the Gunners.

Everything’s different now. It really is. Arsenal is no longer that team that plays nervously if they concede first. Reus isn’t enjoying the same season as he did last term. However, if Wenger decided to add Reus to the team he’s currently having, I would still see it as a good move.

Reus is the type of player that can fit well at any big club. His versatility, gifted ability, constant movement, technique, array of finishing options, burgeoning pedigree, Arteta-like perfect hair and great mental strength make him a lovely fit for the North London side.