Julian Draxler

Arsenal are preparing a £37m bid for Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler after losing patience with club record signing Mesut Ozil, according to the Daily Express.

The £42m acquisition from Real Madrid is out for up to two months with a knee injury, after flattering to deceive in an Arsenal shirt in the major part of his stay at the Emirates.

His lack of assists and work rate in an Arsenal shirt has incensed a lot of fans who are after his blood following their 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The German had a chance to put the record straight with the return of Theo Walcott to the starting line-up following a nine-month layoff, but the injury will put further pressure on Arsene Wenger to revamp his squad in the summer and put in a proper challenge for the title.

Draxler has emerged as the favourite to replace his compatriot, with Arsenal rekindling their interest in the Schalke star.

The Gunners are currently seventh in the league, nine points behind leaders Chelsea with 31 games to go in the season. Draxler's arrival will give them some much-needed creativity which has been lacking following the dismal form of Ozil and may relegate their record signing to the bench.

The 20-year-old has made six starts for his club so far, scoring one goal and assisting one but would like to see his statistics improve over the next couple of months if Arsenal are to keep their pursuance of the prodigy.

Meanwhile, Wenger has confirmed that they are close to having Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta back from injury, with the trio set to return to the squad before the end of the month.

The Gunners have an important set of fixtures coming up in the next couple of months starting with Hull, should they look to keep their hopes of challenging for the title alive.

The return of players from injury is an important aspect of their campaign, given the Gunners are already down to their bare bones and with Champions League fixtures also in the offing.