Franck Ribery, the dynamic Marseilles winger who has been a target of Arsène Wenger for the past year, is believed to have reached a verbal agreement with the Arsenal manager that will see him arrive at the North London club this summer.

Wenger believed that he had secured a deal with Marseilles to sign Ribery for a minimum of £13.5 million in August, but the Frenchman was persuaded to agree a new deal at the French club until 2010, increasing his wage to about £40,000 a week and providing a one-off bonus of £400,000.

According to France Football magazine, however, Marseilles have agreed that Ribery could leave the club this summer, provided that they do not qualify for the Champions League, which is unlikely as, at present, they are in eighth place in Ligue 1.

Marseilles rejected a bid of £15 million from Lyons for the winger in the summer and Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have also expressed an interest.

“I don’t want to relive the same situation as last summer,” Ribery said in January. “My main objective remains to qualify for the Champions League with Marseilles and then we will see what happens. The clubs that were interested in me after the World Cup continue to contact me.”

Ribery made an impression as one of France’s most exciting prospects at the World Cup finals in Germany last summer. His inspirational performances for Marseilles have resulted in him being hailed as the next Zinedine Zidane and earned him the young player of the year award in France last season. He is unpredictable, but with the freedom to roam he can drive forward from midfield and deliver incisive passes. He is also a sharp finisher, scoring three times in the French league this season. At 23, he has played for six clubs and earned a reputation for having a short temper in spells at Galatasaray and FC Metz.

Ribery could join Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Gaël Clichy, among other compatriots, at the Emirates Stadium, where a key factor in his arrival is likely to be the prospect of European football.

Arsenal’s involvement in the Champions League this season, which ended in defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the first knock-out round, has been a contributing factor in Cesc Fabregas making more then 40 first-team appearances this season.

The Spain midfield player believes that he is in danger of losing his cutting edge as a result. “I am looking forward to this summer, although the thing is that when we finish at Arsenal, we have international games in June and that breaks up my plans a little bit,” he said. “Sometimes I do think I need one summer just to rest. I remember when I was 16 turning 17, I had seven weeks’ rest and I came back in preseason refreshed and ready to go.

“You do need that rest when you are so young and you start playing so many games under a lot of pressure, especially in midfield, where you have to run a lot and make a lot of tackles. Of course I like to play football and I will never say ‘no’ when I am asked to play because I love it so much. But after six or seven years of this you can get injuries so you have to be professional and take care of yourself.”