Draxler says he wants to leave Wolfsburg
(Reuters) - Julian Draxler has said he wants to leave German side VfL Wolfsburg, a month after the club claimed he was "100 percent certain" to stay.
The 22-year-old has been strongly linked with a move away from the Volkswagen Arena after just one season at the club, with Premier League side Arsenal keen on acquiring the Germany international's services, according to media reports.
Wolfsburg's sporting director Klaus Allofs said last month that Draxler would not be leaving, but the player says he has made the club aware of his desire to quit.
"For me it is so, that I have made myself clear after the European championship to (manager) Dieter Hecking that I want to leave Wolfsburg. The coach has known about this for three weeks," Draxler told German newspaper Bild.
"It was clear, that VfL Wolfsburg at that time was supposed to be a good prospect for me, but also a springboard... When I joined, I was assured -- verbally -- that I could leave the club whenever the opportunity arose.
"I'm still really surprised, that media have been talking about me for weeks. I expected something else, for instance that someone would come to me and ask, how does it look like for me."
Speculation over Draxler's future at the club intensified further when Wolfsburg signed Jakub Blaszczykowski with German media reporting the Poland midfielder joined as his replacement.
Draxler, who joined Wolfsburg from Schalke 04 on a five-year contract in August, played 21 league matches and scored five goals as the Bundesliga club finished eighth last season.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar and Silvia Recchimuzzi; Editing by Toby Davis)