Werder Bremen captain Clemens Fritz has talked up a possible return for Per Mertesacker to the Bundesliga side.
"It would be a good thing for the club," Fritz told Bild of Arsenal centre-back Mertesacker.
Mertesacker, 32, has entered the final few months of his contract at the Emirates, and is currently working on his comeback from cartilage damage in his knee sustained during preseason.
The Gunners captain said last week he was open to a return to Germany should Arsenal decide against renewing his contract.
His former clubs Hannover and Werder Bremen, as well as Wolfsburg, where former Bremen sporting director Klaus Allofs is in charge, have all expressed an interest in his services.
Last week, Bremen expressed their interest, with sporting director Frank Baumann saying that he could "see Per at Werder."
On Tuesday, club captain Fritz said that Mertesacker would be "a great gain for Werder."
Fritz, alongside Philipp Bargfrede, is one of only two current Werder professionals to have played alongside Mertesacker during his time at the Weserstadion from 2006 through to 2011. And the two have remained in contact ever since.
"We've talked about it [a return to Bremen]," Fritz said about his recent conversations with the Gunners defender.
