Werder Bremen open to Mertesacker return

Werder Bremen general manager Frank Baumann has insisted that the club would welcome Per Mertesacker with open arms, should he decide to leave Arsenal in the New Year.

The former German international is currently nursing a knee injury which he sustained in pre-season.

Recent reports have suggested that the World Cup winner could eye a potential exit from the Emirates with summer recruits Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding likely to be preferred ahead of him in the pecking order.

Baumann, who played a key role in recruiting Serge Gnabry from the Gunners this summer, claimed that the defender was brought up in negotiations between the two clubs.

"I could well imagine Per at Werder," he told Bild. "In the course of Serge's transfer, we also spoke about his [Mertesacker's] future."

Mertesacker's current deal is due to expire at the end of the season, and talks over an extension have been kept on hold for now.