Mesut Özil and Sead Kolašinac have been marked as potential influencers in the future of Julian Draxler.

Draxler officially signed for Paris Saint-Germain in January 2017, but already he is being linked with a move away from the club. Arsenal are touted as being interested, after similar reports have appeared yearly since 2014.

According to football.london, if Arsenal want to have a chance at signing the German, they need to take advantage of the relationship he has with current Arsenal players Sead Kolašinac and Mesut Özil.

Whilst Draxler’s agent has since spoken to allay fears of an exit, Arsenal are reportedly interested. If the rumours are true, Mesut and Sead could be influential in his decision. Özil has a good relationship with Draxler from their time together with the national team, and according to football.london the PSG player said previously: “Yeah, I would like to see my friend here.”

“We speak in a way like friends are talking and I say to him ‘come to PSG.’ He is laughing and he said to me last summer ‘come to Arsenal.’ It is just like this.”

Julian Draxler Mesut Ozil
(PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

As well as this, Kolašinac and Draxler know each other from their time with Schalke, and reportedly are still close. Having a relationship with some players before joining a club certainly helps when settling in, and creates a positive atmosphere as well. The question now is just whether the exit rumours are true.

After PSG signed Neymar from Barcelona, immediately doubts were cast over Draxler’s chances of first-team action. Both players played the majority of their matches last season on the left-wing, in fact of their combined 84 appearances only 10 didn’t come from that position.

So it seems they’re fighting for one spot. It just remains to be seen whether Draxler accepts this and pushes on, or looks elsewhere.