Schalke say that Julian Draxler will not leave them to join Arsenal, or anybody else, before tonight’s

transfer deadline, with the German club’s sporting director, Horst Heldt, saying that he expected the attacking midfielder to stay beyond the summer, too.

Arsenal have been interested in signing Draxler and their chief transfer negotiator, Dick Law, has been in Germany for talks with Schalke. The London club had the feeling that their chances of a deal for the 20-year-old, who is rated as one of Germany’s hottest prospects, would be better in the summer but Law’s presence for the face-to-face negotiations reflected Arsenal’s desire to explore the possibility during the current window.

Arsenal, though, have always had concerns about Schalke's valuation of the player, whether shaped by his €45 million buyout clause or the inflated January market.

Player's value
Heldt said that the clause was not currently valid and the market would decide the player's value while Draxler is on record as saying that the clause would apply again in the summer. Over and above any confusion, Arsenal had hoped that there could be room for manoeuvre with Schalke. There has seemingly not been enough this month.

“We are happy to have such a world-class player in our lines and I am very convinced that Draxler will be playing for us in the Rückrunde [second half of the season] but, most probably, beyond that,” Heldt said. “We are not interested in letting Julian leave and he has also not approached us about a transfer.

“Of course, there are always other clubs interested in him and should someone make a serious offer for him, then we as a club have to professionally consider that. That does not only apply to Julian Draxler but to every other player.”

On the buyout clause, Heldt added: “That agreement was only in place for last year. From now on, the transfer fee is up for negotiation.”

Injury setback
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, must balance the final day of the transfer window with his preparations for Sunday's Premier League game at home to Crystal Palace and he confirmed that Aaron Ramsey's injury setback did not "look too good".

Ramsey aggravated the thigh strain that he suffered at West Ham United on St Stephen’s when he returned to training this week and he has been ruled out for at least a fortnight, meaning he will miss the league games against Palace, Liverpool and Manchester United, plus the FA Cup tie at Liverpool. He also stands to be a doubt for the Champions League last 16 first-leg tie against Bayern Munich on February 19th. But Wenger’s bulletin sounded even more worrying.

“Ramsey will be out for longer because he had a setback and it doesn’t look too good,” Wenger said. “It is a matter of some weeks for him.”

There was better news on Jack Wilshere, who missed Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Southampton with ankle trouble. "For Sunday, he will be short but he has a chance to be available for the week after at Liverpool," Wenger said. "We have no [new]problems apart from Mathieu Flamini's suspension. We could have Tomas Rosicky back for Sunday. He had problems after surgery on his nose."
Guardian Service