Arsenal Suffer Blow in Race for German Star - Report

Arsenal face a setback in the race to sign Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. The Mirror believes the 21-year-old German international favours a move to Spanish giants Barcelona and has refused to speak to both the Gunners and Italian club Inter Milan.

Tito Vilanova and Barcelona are believed to be in the market for a first choice goalkeeper, following confirmation present No 1 Victor Valdes will leave the club. The 31-year-old Spain international is out of contract next summer and the Nou Camp side will likely look to cash in on him in the coming months. Liverpool shot stopper Pepe Reina, also a Spanish international, has been linked by an earlier Mirror report but the Reds' No 1 has insisted he would like to remain at Anfield.

Arsenal were believed to be favourites to sign the Barcelona goalkeeper, with the Express reporting the Gunners had opened talks in April. However, French newspaper Le10 Sport claims newly promoted Ligue 1 side AS Monaco could steal the Spaniard.

Whosoever be the new signing, it is believed Arsene Wenger wants a new and experienced No 1 to provide competition and cover for the Polish duo of Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny, who have rotated the position between themselves this season.

David O'Leary on Jack Wilshere

Meanwhile, Arsenal legend David O'Leary has revealed he wants Jack Wilshere to break his record for the most Arsenal appearances. The 55-year-old Irishman made over 700 appearances for the north London club between 1973 and 1993. However, he also acknowledges the physical strain on players today could mean Wilshere does not play as many games.

"I'd love to be proved wrong but I just can't see my record being beaten. It's a lot of games. When you look at the numbers I think we were averaging 50 games a season. I didn't think it was a big deal that was what you had to do, you had to play two or three times a week," he told www.arsenal.com.

"I would be delighted if it's someone like Jack, because then I will know that a tremendous player - who I am sure will improve and improve - played at Arsenal for a long time. And that can only benefit the Club," he added.