Arsenal lead race to sign German star

Arsenal are reported to be in pole position to sign Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

The 21-year old has been referred to in some quarters as ‘the German Messi’, and has scored four goals for the Bundesliga side this season.

Arsene Wenger is said to be very keen on the German international, although the proposed €20million transfer fee would be a potential stumbling block, considering that Arsenal rarely spend substantial sums of money on a single player, with Wenger preferring to purchase potentially good players that can be developed at the Emirates.

Marin, who moved to Bremen from Borussia Monchengladbach in June 2009, is of Bosnian/Serb origin but has lived in Germany since the age of two and declared his intention to play for Germany earlier this year.

He has been capped 11 times for the German national team and was a member of the squad that were defeated by eventual champions Spain in the World Cup semi-finals earlier this summer.

Marin made two appearances as a substitute during the competition, as a substitute against Australia and Serbia in the group stages.