Arsenal Transfer News: Analysis Of Targets Mario Götze & Marco Reus

The story of Germans playing for Arsenal Football Club is a rather short one. There was of course Mad Jens Lehmann – an Invicinble. He famously kept a clean sheet for 853 minutes in the 2005/2006 Champions League campaign before getting sent off in the final. The second German, Per Mertesacker, is part of the current squad. He has proven to be a useful addition so far but whether he will make a real impression lies in the future.

If tabloids are to be believed, it seems that Arsene Wenger is trying to add to that tally of German players in Arsenal colours. The list of players recently mentioned includes Lukas Podolski, Mario Götze, Marco Reus, Andreas Beck and Kevin Großkreutz. From what I know, the interest in Götze and Reus is definitely legit and the players have been watched regularly. I rate the Podolski story as 50/50 whereas the stories about Beck and Großkreutz are, at least at the moment, complete nonsense.

Mario Götze

Borussia Dortmund – 49 Bundesliga appearances, 11 goals, 19 assists

Götze was always going to be a star. From very early on, I first watched him winning the under 17 Euros in 2009, you could tell that he was extremely talented.  Now, at 19 years of age, he is one of the hottest talents in the world. 

When Dortmund won the title last season, he contributed six goals and 15 assists. The attacking midfielder, who can play on the right and left side as well as through the middle, featured in 33 of 34 games, a testament to his physical condition. This season he continued to perform on a very high level, scoring 4 goals in 10 games. From time to time he has a bad game, but that is totally fine for a 19 year old.

Over time, pundits had to create new superlatives every week; from ‘German Messi’ (Beckenbauer) to ‘one of the best talents that we’ve ever had’ (Sammer).  And of course, from an Arsenal point of view, there was that story about the £35m bid. Dortmund’s coach Klopp later confirmed that this bid hadn’t been made by Arsenal. Still, his value can be set at £35m to 40m.

Key attributes: Pace, technique, first touch , eye for pass, goal scorer , creative, two footed. 

Marco Reus

Borussia Mönchengladbach – 78 appearances, 28 goals, 16 assists

Marco Reus has a lot in common with Mario Götze as they both spent their youth with Borussia Dortmund. Götze made it in Dortmund, but Reus had to take the detour over second league side Ahlen before signing for Bundesliga club Gladbach in 2009.  Although Reus is three years older than Götze, he only made his Bundesliga debute three months before Götze did. But that should not shed light on his talents. It might have taken Reus longer to perform consistently on the highest level, but in the end it just counts that you get there. 

Reus is another German player that is heavily linked with Arsenal. Compared to Götze, Reus will be available for ‘only’ €18m in the summer of 2012 (buy-out clause). Gladbach desperately want to hang onto him for another year or two but that might be a mission impossible. Gladbach’s coach Favre has recently admitted that he talked to Wenger about Reus but told him he wanted to keep him. Reus was a Gooner is his youth but I doubt that this will make any difference. Eventually, I see him joining Bayern Munich as I believe he is simply not ready (maybe even doesn’t want to) to move abroad. 

Key attributes: Finishing, high speed dribbling, pace, composure, technically excellent.

Who would you like to see Arsenal sign, Gotze or Reus, or BOTH?!