Gunners linked with controversial keeper

Controversial German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has agreed terms with premiership runners-up Arsenal, according to German media …

Controversial German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has agreed terms with premiership runners-up Arsenal, according to German media today.

German football magazine Kickeris reporting that the two clubs are currently haggling over the price for the 33 year old.

Arsenal are said to be offering stg£2.5 million, one million pounds shy of the German's asking price.

Either way the move would look to be a better option than signing Valencia's Spanish star Santiago Canizares, who would be likely to cost upwards of stg£10million, even though Lehmann, capped 16 times by his country, has been sent off five times in his career.

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As many as 20 goalkeepers have been linked with Arsenal since Wenger decided to let England star Seaman, 39, join Manchester City on a free transfer last month, ending the veteran's 13-year association at Highbury.

It was expected that Wenger would then choose between Canizares, Sunderland's Thomas Sorensen and Turkish international star Rustu Recber, but none of those projected deals have taken off and a number of trialists have failed to come up to scratch.

It began to look as if 22-year-old Stuart Taylor would start the campaign as Arsenal's number one and that could still be the case.

Taylor has now been offered a two-year extension to his contract which already had two years to run.

But an injury scare when he was knocked out during a friendly against Peterborough United last week focused Wenger's attention on the need for another experienced keeper on the books and he may now have settled on Lehman.

Lehmann has also played for Schalke 04 and AC Milan and is regarded as one of the top keepers in Europe but his disciplinary record is not pretty.

Once he was sent off for abusing his own team-mate - a second yellow card offence. And he was also suspended by the German FA on video evidence for kicking an opponent - an offence missed by the referee.

Meanwhile, Wenger has taken his FA Cup-winning squad to Austria for three pre-season games ahead of more serious matches in two weeks' time against Celtic and Rangers, followed by the traditional season curtain-raiser, the Community Shield clash with champions Manchester United.