Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Dortmund tell Arsenal : Hands off Gotze

Arsenal fans will get their first glimpse of German wunderkind Mario Gotze - but Borussia Dortmund have warned they shouldn't get used to him.
The 19-year-old is at the top of Arsene Wenger's wish-list, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also in the hunt for the forward.
German international Gotze impressed in the clubs' first meeting of the Champions League group phase in September, and the £30m-rated teenager will now get his chance to shine at the Emirates as the clubs clash again.
But Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp insisted that Gotze will not be affected by the transfer tug-of-war - and confirmed he does not want to sell him in January.
"Nothing can happen in January. It's not a problem. Arsenal is only about 10 per cent of what is written in Germany, so it's not a problem," said Klopp.
"Apparently, Bayern Munich are interested in him. He scored one against Bayern Munich and I will be happy if he wins against Arsenal.
"Nobody buys a player from Borussia Dortmund just like that. Not even Arsenal.
"Luckily, his focus is not an issue. He's very relaxed about that."
Gotze was outstanding in Dortmund's away win over Bayern at the weekend and has promised that his team will go for all-out attack at the Emirates.
Arsenal need to win the match to secure qualification to the knock-out stage, but Gotze and Klopp have admitted it's also win or bust for Dortmund.
"This match comes at a good time for us after the win in Munich. We need to win and that's our objective," said Gotze.
"I've heard the rumours from the Premier League, but I never let that affect me. I'm only focused on Dortmund, now more than ever.
"We won't play a conservative system, that would be a mistake. We want to win and to do that we need to play an offensive game."
Klopp, meanwhile, added that it would be "fatal" for his side just to concentrate on Arsenal's in-form Dutch striker Robin van Persie.
"We won't have four men on Robin," he said. "The easiest way is that he doesn't get good balls and we have measures for that.
"It would be fatal to focus only on Van Persie. We have to take care of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey - you get punished if you let them go. Song too.
"We have to focus on what we do - that will mean Arsenal cannot play their game. That is how we would like it."

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