Werder Bremen keen on Per Mertesacker return from Arsenal

Werder Bremen general manager Frank Baumann has claimed that the club are keen on re-signing Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker.

The former Germany international, who joined the Gunners from Bremen in 2011, has not yet featured this season due to a knee injury.

The summer arrival of Shkodran Mustafi has put Mertesacker's long-term future into doubt, and Baumann has revealed that the defender was brought up during talks to sign Serge Gnabry in the summer.

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

Mertesacker will come to the end of his current Arsenal contract next summer.