Arsenal Transfer News: Marco Reus Decision Explained

Shinji Kagawa has explained why he believes Marco Reus chose to commit his future to Borussia Dortmund, with the striker turning down interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich to join the German outfit.

Dortmund are amassing a great deal of talent in their squad, with Kagawa playing alongside the wanted Mario Gotze and Neven Subotic.

And after the club were able to garner Reus amongst numerous other sides from Borussia Mochengladbach, with the 22-year-old set to join in the summer after coming to an official agreement, Kagawa believes he will be the perfect fit for the Dortmund squad.

"I thought Oh, here we get yet another super-gain," Kagawa told German paper Die Welt over the signing of Reus.

"Marco Reus is really a young player who looks like the future of German football. This is due to his playing and his youth and he is certainly someone who is very well suited to us."

Kagawa, who himself has garnered interest from Premier League clubs over the transfer window, believes that Reus chose Dortmund because the club is developing into a giant in both Germany and Europe.

"I've only been one and a half years in Dortmund, but I've seen that in this time Borussia Dortmund has developed steadily," he explained.

"We have become German champions have played in the Champions League. In the Bundesliga, we play with the top and want it to do so in the future.

"This means that we need good reinforcements for us to develop further. In this respect I can well understand commitment by Marco Reus."

Arsenal were widely believed to be in the running for Reus, with numerous media outlets claiming that Arsene Wenger was competing with Bayern Munich to sign the youngster.

Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre admitted in November that Arsenal had made an enquiry over Reus' availability, but he insisted the fronman wouldn't go on the cheap.

"Yes! Jens Lehmann gave him a tip to watch Marco. Then Arsene called me," he told Bild over the personal call from Wenger.

"I know Arsene very well and told him the truth: Marco is a very, very interesting player. But I am coach of Borussia and want to keep him."

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also admitted he was interested in purchasing Reus, telling reporters: "Marco Reus is definitely an interesting player. He is young and in the German national team. Our goal is to bring more Germany internationals to Munich."

But Dortmund won the race, and Kagawa's belief that the team are building to surround future European talents shows that the side have a lot of mental strength, and they will need it this season, with the Bundesliga table one of the tightest for points across Europe.