Bayer Leverkusen rising star Ibrahim Maza has name-checked Arsenal as one of the big clubs he’d love to play for in future.

Maza is currently making waves in Germany as he shines most weeks for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

He joined the German club from Hertha BSC in a €12m deal last summer. Since then, he’s scored nine goals and assisted 10 in 56 appearances for the club.

Those numbers, and his performances, have not gone unnoticed. This weeks, reports stated that Paris Saint-Germain have already signalled their intention to make a move. They reportedly spoke to the player’s entourage and are monitoring the situation closely.

Maza was also recently ranked ninth among the world’s top young talents at the Ballon D’Or gala. The sole point he received in that voting came from none of than Lionel Messi.

That’s a glowing endorsement, to say the least, and Maza is more than aware of that fact.

“Being chosen by Messi is a great honor for me. It’s something truly special. It provides a huge extra boost of motivation,” he told Sky Germany.

Arsenal included

Such a statement from someone like Messi is unlikely to go unnoticed by Maza’s potential suitors either.

PSG are already at the front of the queue, but Maza admits that there’s other clubs he’d love to play for as well, including Arsenal.

“It would, of course, be a huge dream to play for such a big club,” he said about the PSG reports.

“I think we all know what a massive club Paris is—it’s one of the best in the world, right alongside the likes of Real, Barça, and Arsenal. Playing for a club like that—that’s something not just I, but many footballers, are working toward.”

Wirtz comparison

For now, Arsenal are yet to be linked to the rising talent. But that could easily change in the coming months and years if he continues to impress.

In the meantime, Maza will be hoping to build on the positive impression he’s already built. Indeed, big comparisons are already being made. Some, see very clear similarities to Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz.

The youngster isn’t bothered by such lofty comparisons. In fact, he sees them as nothing but a compliment.

“I see that as a positive, absolutely,” he added.

“It’s great that, as most people say, I have some of the same qualities as Flo Wirtz. And yes, it’s a wonderful thing to be compared to a world-class player like Flo—to have people say, ‘He’s got a bit of him in his game.'”

ARSENAL’S BUNDESLIGA SIGNINGS Direct arrivals · November 2016–November 2026

Player	Signed from	Position	Arrival	Deal
FIRST-TEAM SIGNINGS
Sead Kolašinac	Schalke	Left-back	July 2017	Free transfer
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	Forward	January 2018	Permanent transfer
Bernd Leno	Bayer Leverkusen	Goalkeeper	Summer 2018	Permanent transfer
Sokratis Papastathopoulos	Borussia Dortmund	Centre-back	July 2018	Permanent transfer
Piero Hincapié	Bayer Leverkusen	Centre-back / left-back	September 2025	Loan; permanent from July 2026
ACADEMY SIGNING FROM A BUNDESLIGA CLUB
Omar Rekik	Hertha Berlin	Centre-back	January 2021	Permanent; joined Arsenal U23s

Period: 4 November 2016–4 November 2026. Direct new signings from clubs playing in the Bundesliga at the time; returns from Arsenal loans excluded. Rekik is listed separately because he arrived from Hertha’s development setup.
Granit Xhaka joined from Borussia Mönchengladbach in summer 2016, just outside this rolling 10-year period. Kai Havertz and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived from Chelsea and Manchester United respectively, rather than directly from Germany.
Updated: 4 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS