‘Outstanding’ Youngster ‘More Valuable’ Than Mario Gotze

Franck Ribery has made the sensational claim that Mario Gotze is eclipsed by the lesser-known Robert Lewandowski, with the France international insisting he is a more valuable member of the Borussia Dortmund squad.

Lewandowski has scored 20 goals in 50 appearances for Borussia, since moving to the club from Polish side Lech Poznan in 2010. At just 23, he hasn't been officially connected with any English clubs as yet, but could be an untapped talent as Premier League clubs set out their targets to chase in January.

Gotze, on the other hand, has been the subject of a great deal of transfer talk, particularly in relation to a possible move to Arsenal. He has been dubbed by numerous press outlets as the 'Next Messi', and it seems every day there is an update on where the Germany international might go after Dortmund.

Arsene Wenger has been asked on a number of occasions what he thinks of the playmaker, and while the north London club purchased Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta to shore up their midfielder in the summer, the side see Gotze as a possible European talent already, despite his tender age of 19.

But Ribery, who currently plays for German giants Bayern Munich, believes that Lewandowski would be more valuable to any team than Gotze, who is said to be worth around £30 million.

"In my opinion, Lewandowski is more valuable than Gotze. He really is an outstanding player," Ribery told Sport-Bild.

"When I look at Dortmund, it is Lewandowski who catches my eye rather than Gotze. Lewandowski is a great striker. Gotze is more of a central player, not for out wide."

Arsenal signed striker Thierry Henry on a two month loan spell at the start of January to fill in for Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh while the pair are at the Africa Cup of Nations, but should Chamakh continue to insist on more playing time at the Emirates, he could leave the club permanently in the summer.

And if Arsenal are in need of a striker in the summer, Lewandowski could be more suited to the club than Gotze and could come at a cheaper price with less English hype surrounding the Poland international.

Who do you think is better?

Robert Lewandowski

Mario Gotze