Water carrier is contracted to the Bundesliga side until 2019.
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Premier League outfit Arsenal are set to return with a second improved offer for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender at the end of the season after failing to land the German last summer, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
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The north London club have been keeping close tabs on the Germany international for some time, with Gunners head coach Arsene Wenger said to be a huge fan of the box-to-box midfielder.
In fact, the experienced French trainer even came desperately close to luring Bender to the Emirates last summer, only for the north Londoners to see an offer of £19m for the 24-year-old rejected by the Bundesliga outfit.
However, it is also understood that Wenger has continued to send his chief scout Steve Rowley to watch the player in action first hand this season, with glowing reports coming back about the midfielder.
Bender has appeared in a total of 34 matches in all competitions for both club and country so far in this campaign, registering four goals and two assists along the way, including two strikes and one assist in the Bundesliga.