Having seen his troops falter once again in the quest for the Premier League trophy this season, Arsene Wenger appears to be on the move to entice Borussia Dortmund sensational winger, Marco Reus to the Emirates in the summer. About four years ago, just before the last FIFA world cup, Marco Reus was said to have flown to London to hold discussion with Wenger but he got injured and Arsenal ended their interest.
It has now been reported that Reus could be on his way to Arsenal this season as Wenger remains keen on signing him. Apart from Wenger has also enjoyed purported interest from both Laurent Blanc (PSG) and former manager Jurgen Klopp now at Liverpool.
Klopp had signed Reus who was unknown outside Germany from Borussia Mochengladbach in 2012 for €17 million (making 97 appearances and scoring 36 goals in three years in Mochengladbach), and turned him into one of the best midfielders in Bundesliga as his combination with Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze and Kuba led Dortmund to the final of the Champions League in 2013, where they were beaten by an Arjen Robben last minute goal. Reus has gone on to make 110 league appearances for the club scoring 48 goals in the process. With Dortmund, Reus won the German Footballer of the year in 2012 and also was named in UEFA Team of the Year in 2013.
At 26, Reus hasn’t lived up to his early promise as a succession of injuries have hampered his development of recent. Reus missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (Germany went on to win the trophy) as a result of an ankle injury after scoring five goals and registering three assists in six qualifying matches before the World Cup. This season, the German has scored 10 Bundesliga goals in 21 games. He has also scored five goals and two assists in 10 Europa League games before Dortmund were beaten by a Liverpool side coached by Klopp in the quarter-final this season.
While PSG has the financial muscle to sign him, Reus might be reluctant to move to Ligue 1 as the likes of Edison Cavani, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Moura have found it difficult to thrive in Paris. He might also see the league as a step-down compared to the English Premiership. It remains to be seen how he will be deployed in Arsenal if signed as the North London club plays the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Joel Campbell, Oxlade Chamberlain and Alexeis Sanchez on the wings with Mesut Ozil playing slightly behind the striker or in a free role (Oliver Giroud, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck or Alex Iwobi).
Reus has seen a revival of late as his team has been the best attacking team in the Bundesliga this season, and this is in contrast to their struggle last season under Klopp, which saw them in a relegation position before the winter break. Also Dortmund would want to keep their best players as the club aims to fight the dominance of Bayern Munich next season, which makes a transfer unlikely. Just like other unlikely transfers that happened in the past, “anything is possible in football”.
Although one would think with Klopp now at Liverpool, the Reds may have a chance but unless they win the Europa league and qualify for the Champions league, they stand no chance.
