Arsenal have been closely monitoring the 20-year-old striker and scouts flew over to Germany to catch his last two matches.

The Jamaican-born forward has taken the Bundesliga by storm netting eight goals in 16 matches this term.

Two of those strikes came in the 4-4 draw at Hannover last weekend, while Arsenal scouts were in attendance.

He also impressed by scoring the winning goal against Borussia Moenchengladbach in the German Cup on Wednesday.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has been a long-time admirer of Bailey, while Man Utd’s Jose Mourinho is also considering making a move for the youngster.

But according to the Mirror, Arsene Wenger is now in the driving seat to secure his signature and could get him when the transfer window opens next month.

With stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil set to leave the club, either in January or for free at the end of the season, Wenger is now desperate for reinforcements.

The Gunners could also lose Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud next month as they search for regular game time aead of the World Cup.

Chelsea had been leading the chase for Bailey and it is suggested they had a £22m bid rejected by Leverkusen.

However, Bailey signed a five-year deal after joining from Genk in the summer so they may have to part with more cash than that to tempt him away from the Bundesliga club.

Arsenal slid down to seventh in the Premier League table following Friday’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool.

And as the battle for the top four heats up, Wenger is thought to be increasing his efforts to strengthen his squad in January.