Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident of signing Stuttgart midfielder Alexander Hleb.

“The transfer will be completed in the next few days. I think he can start packing his bags to come to us,” Wenger told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten paper.

Wenger has reportedly already held an initial meeting with the 24-year-old Belarus international after being granted permission from Stuttgart to begin transfer talks.

Stuttgart have agreed to sell after Arsenal increased their offer to £6m.

Wenger pursued his interest in Hleb when new Stuttgart coach Giovanni Trapattoni made it clear Hleb could leave.

“It is fundamentally not a good idea to force a player to stay when they want to leave,” Trappattoni told Bild magazine.

“The team is far more important than one individual.”

Hleb has scored 13 goals in 137 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart, and has won 10 senior caps for Belarus.

“Chelsea are also genuinely interested, however Arsenal have priority as Arsene Wenger has been dreaming of having Alexander in his team for two years now,” said his representative Nikolai Spilevski.