Arsenal Transfer News: Lukas Podolski Reveals His Talks With Julian Draxler

Lukas Podolski has revealed that he is in contact with Schalke's Julian Draxler but insists that he has never discussed a move to Arsenal with his compatriot.

During the winter transfer window, it was reported that the Gunners were willing to offer the 28-year-old Podolski in a player-plus-cash-exchange deal for Draxler However, Arsenal's attempts to negotiate a deal with Schalke failed.

The Gelsenkirchen club confirmed last month that they received bids for the youngster, but these were rejected.

Despite the disappointment in January, Podolski states that Arsenal are still interested in bringing the 20-year-old to north London. The German international also rubbished rumours suggesting that he will used as bait in a deal for Daxler in the summer.

"I have contact with Julian, he's a good boy. But about a switch [to Arsenal] we have not yet spoken. Every top player is interesting for Arsenal, Draxler is definitely one of them," Podolski told Bild.

"But what the management are planning, I cannot say. An exchange deal of Podolski for Draxler has been described in some media but it was never an issue," he added.

Last month, Draxler urged his potential suitors to meet the £37.8m release clause in his contract in order to prise him away from Schalke. Arsenal could also face competition from Bayern Munich after their sporting director Matthias Sammer expressed their interest in the midfielder.

The north London club are currently preparing to face Pep Guardiola'sBayern at the Allianz Arena for the last-16 second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

The German and European champions registered a 2-0 victory in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium last month. But Podolski remains hopeful that Arsenal can force a favourable result against his former club and secure progression to the next round.

"It is not easy, especially not after the 0-2 in the first leg. They are arguably the best club team in the world. But the first 15 minutes of the first leg showed that they can be stopped. We need to put everything into the game, go in with the right aggressiveness and then score," Podolski concluded.