The Julian Draxler-to-Arsenal saga may not be over after all.
Stories from several news sources over the weekend suggest that there's tugging and pulling on the German international from three clubs -- Arsenal, Schalke, and (annoyingly enough) Bayern Munich, who may move to further blur the lines between the defending Champions League champions and the German national team.
German media outlet Bild reported that Arsenal bid for Draxler (36 million euros, or about £30 million) just before the transfer deadline, but Schalke manager Horst Heldt considered it under his valuation. An ESPN FC report further confirms that the club rejected a bid for Draxler, but Heldt's coy statement that the bid came from "a club from the north" suggests that it could have come from Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg, as England is not actually north of Germany.
Draxler does have a £37 million release clause this summer, but according to a Metro report (fed by Twitter speculation from Jan Aage Fjortoft), Bayern Munich contacted Schalke before the closing of the window to say that they would be happy to give Pep Guardiola's squad a greater monopoly on German talent come summer. The report also quotes Heldt with the not-at-all-surprising revelation that Draxler won't go for any lower than his valuation.
Arsenal faces Bayern in Champions League matches on Feb. 19 in London and Mar. 11 in Munich.