Bernd Leno is well aware of speculation linking Julian Brandt with a summer move to Arsenal.
And he has even been in contact with his fellow Germany international who used to be his teammate at Bayer Leverkusen prior to sealing his Gunners transfer three years ago.
It's not the first time Brandt has been linked with Arsenal in 2021.
In fact, prior to sealing a loan deal for Martin Odegaard from La Liga giants Real Madrid until the end of the season in the January transfer window, the Gunners were interested in bringing the Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder to the Emirates Stadium.
But it could be second time lucky for the north London outfit when the summer window officially opens.
According to Bild, via Sport Witness, Arsenal are keen on Brandt who is reportedly not averse to a new challenge and Dortmund would be willing to accept a fee in the region of £17.3m.
This development comes after Bild reported in March that the decision-makers at the Signal Iduna Park would be open to letting the Germany international leave.
Furthermore, the report states that incoming Dortmund head coach Marco Rose will have the final say on Brandt's future as if he does not consider the attacking midfielder to be a part of his plans, he could well be on the move in the summer.
One person hoping for a reunion is Leno who has delivered his verdict on a possible Brandt to Arsenal transfer.
"I read the rumors with Arsenal and wrote them a few messages right away," he said in an interview with German publication Sport 1. "But I don't know what is really there.
"In any case, I would be happy if he would come. Jule is a good friend, we had a very good time in Leverkusen and privately we were often out for one or two beers.
"Maybe we can experience that again in the future.
"He's also invited to my wedding, which unfortunately couldn't take place this year. We will make up for that next year. "
Should Arsenal technical director Edu complete a £17.3m transfer for Brandt, it would provide Mikel Arteta with the chance to unleash an attack worth over €200m.
A scenario that sees Brandt join Arsenal would allow Arteta to pick the German alongside Bukayo Saka and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang behind Moussa Dembele - also linked with a summer move to the Gunners - in a 4-2-3-1 formation for particular games.
Based on each of the quartet's estimated transfer values on CIES Football Observatory, that is €210m (£180m) worth of talent.
Admittedly, the reason this proposed attack would be worth the aforementioned figure is solely down to Saka being the most valued player in the Arsenal squad according to the CIES algorithm as his estimated transfer value is between €120-€150m.
Brandt is next with a valuation of €50-€70m, Aubameyang is at €30m-€40m, while Dembele's €10m valuation pushes the total past the €200m mark.
