Arsenal have agreed on a new contract with towering centre-back Per Mertesacker.

That’s according to the Times, who claim the player has agreed on a new deal despite not having played at all this season.

The German defender, who the paper say was offered a £70,000 a week one year deal, is currently still in rehab recovering from knee and calf injuries with no return on the horizon. However, the former Germany captain has added his name to that of Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin on the list of players who’ve signed new deals this week.

There is even the suggestion that Mertesacker could be loaned out to a European club for the rest of this season to recover some form and fitness, but that would be dependent on him being fit enough to move by the end of this month’s transfer window, which is not certain by any means.

The German was Arsene Wenger’s first-choice centre-back last season, making 36 appearances, and he has made over 200 in all competitions since his £8m move from Werder Bremen in 2011.

Mertesacker, who has won two FA Cups with the Gunners, began his career at Hannover 96 before a five-year spell at Werder Bremen. He is a World Cup winner with Germany and has over 100 international caps.

Mertesacker is unlikely to displace Shkodran Mustafi as the first-choice centre-back partner to Laurent Koscielny. He might not even be the first backup, with Gabriel Paulista having played well when given the chance this season.

At 32, Mertesacker certainly isn’t getting any faster – his lack of speed has always been his greatest weakness – and there were signs last season that his best days might be behind him.

Then there are young talents Rob Holding and Calum Chambers to think about. If Chambers returns from his loan at Middlesbrough and Wenger keeps Mertesacker, Arsenal will have six centre-backs in the squad. Surely that would only serve to hinder the development of both Holding and Chambers, whose opportunities for playing time would be limited at best.