I snubbed transfer moves to Arsenal and Liverpool and wonder if I made a mistake

Julian Draxler has admitted that he would be ‘interested’ to know how his career might have panned out had he joined one of Arsenal or Liverpool when he had the chance.

The German burst onto the scene as an immensely gifted youngster at Schalke in the early 2010s and was tipped for future superstardom by fans and pundits alike across the globe.

In 2012, Draxler was handed his senior Germany debut at the tender age of 17 and the attacking midfielder would go on to lift the World Cup just two years later.

Throughout his time in the Bundesliga, Draxler was incessantly linked with a move to the Premier League, but Paris Saint-Germain but a stop to that when they signed the forward from Wolfsburg in 2017.

While Draxler would go on to win 13 pieces of silverware with PSG, he never managed to get his hands on the Champions League trophy – playing his last competitive match for the French giants in March 2022, two years before they triumphed in Europe.

Draxler was also forced to play a peripheral role – behind the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi – in Paris and there’s often debate as to whether the attacker truly fulfilled his early potential, despite the success he achieved at both club and international level.

In a recent interview with with Sport Bild, Draxler, now aged 32 and playing for Qatari outfit Al Ahli, insisted he was ‘at peace with the decisions’ he had made down the years.

But asked if there were any moments in his career that he wishes he could go back and change, Draxler replied: ‘There are several.

‘When I was still very young at Schalke and extended my contract, I could have gone to Arsenal.

‘Honestly, I’d be interested to see what would have become of me if I had learned from Arsene Wenger so early.’

On Liverpool’s supposed interest, Draxler added: ‘I’ve also wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t gone from Wolfsburg to Paris, but to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. I had that opportunity, too.

‘Nevertheless, I’m happy. I’m at peace with my decisions.’

In the latter years of Wenger’s Arsenal reign, it became a running joke and something of a tradition amongst fans that Draxler should be linked with the club in seemingly every transfer window.

There were rumours Draxler had even paid a visit to Arsenal’s training ground in January 2014, which Wenger laughed off and compared to the sighting of a UFO.

Asked if the Gunners were close to a deal for Draxler, Wenger told reporters: ‘No.

‘That’s like with unidentified flying objects, some see them everywhere.’

Pressed on whether he was ‘curious’ about the prospect of signing Draxler, Wenger responded: ‘Of course I’m curious, it’s my nature.

‘But the transfer period lasts until January 31… are we close to signing anybody? At the moment I would say no.’

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