Rene Adler
Reuters

German goalkeeper Rene Adler has confirmed that the Gunners tried to sign him as a youngster but dismissed rumours of contact between the two parties last summer.

The Gunners were strongly linked with a move for the Hamburg stopper in the recently concluded transfer window but the 28-year-old dismissed rumours of the same and stated that there is no truth in the matter. Arsenal were reportedly in the market to sign a backup for Wojciech Szczesny following a dip in form for the Pole but signed Emiliano Viviano on loan from Palermo who is currently acting as the third choice goalkeeper behind Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski.

The Hamburg stopper revealed that he was scouted by the Gunners twice, once when he was 15 and second when he captained Germany in the U20 World Cup. However, the player chose to stay in Germany and moved to Bayer Leverkusen where he was handed a professional contract.

"When I was 15 there was the opportunity to move to Arsenal, but I decided to go to Leverkusen to get a professional contract there. There was contact after the Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands. I played against Lionel Messi and some other big names and there was contact with Arsenal," Adler said, according to the Mirror.

"There was no contact(last summer). It's a big honour for me if a club like Arsenal are interested in me, but I've never talked with Arsene Wenger," he added.

However, the stopper refused to rule out a move to England and revealed that Arsenal were among the most coveted destinations in world football for German players. The signing of Mesut Ozil has added to the already vast array of German talent in the squad, with the likes of Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski along with upcoming talent by the likes of Serge Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem to fall back on. The Gunners have also been linked with a move for Lars Bender and Marco Reus and are likely to move back in for them next summer.

"It's different between my time in 2005 and now. There are so many German players who play for arsenal. The supporters love Mesut Ozil. Maybe I'd like to play in England. You can't say in football. Football in England is some kind of religion. The fans, the culture behind the big clubs is very interesting," he concluded.

Germany Lionel Messi