Arsenal to start talks with Hleb

Arsenal have been granted permission from VfB Stuttgart to open talks with Belarus midfielder Aleksander Hleb, according to reports.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, in Germany commentating on the Confederations Cup for French television, is keen to conclude the transfer quickly.

Wenger has reportedly already held preliminary talks with the player.

Stuttgart have agreed to sell the 24-year-old after Arsenal increased their offer to £6m.

New Stuttgart coach Giovanni Trapattoni has already made it clear the player can leave the club.

"It is fundamentally not a good idea to force a player to stay when they want to leave," he told Bild magazine. "The team is far more important than one individual."



Hleb has scored 13 goals in 137 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart, and has won 10 senior caps for Belarus.

The midfielder has three years left on his deal with the Bundesliga club.

Last week Hleb's agent insisted both Arsenal and Chelsea were interested in signing the Belarus midfielder.

"Chelsea are also genuinely interested, however Arsenal have priority as Arsene Wenger has been dreaming of having Alexsander in his team for two years now," said his representative Nikolai Spilevski.