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          Aron Johannsson welcomes Serge Gnabry to Werder Bremen

          • Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondentSep 2, 2016, 07:03 AM ET

          Aron Johannsson has welcomed Serge Gnabry to Werder Bremen, and claimed the Germany under-21 international will "add quality" to the Bundesliga side.

          Gnabry, 21, joined from Arsenal on the final day of the summer transfer window after impressing at the Olympics for Germany.

          "He's a good player, I've been told," Johannsson said. "We need 20 good lads and we'll add quality with him, which will make our team stronger."

          Johannsson returned to action in the opening game of the season, a 6-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, after an 11-month spell out injured. The 25-year-old played an hour against the Bundesliga champions due to the absence of Claudio Pizarro and Max Kruse.

          "I am not 100 percent fit. I still lack match fitness," Johannsson told kicker, adding that he's hopeful he can continue to make progress despite missing training earlier this week because of illness.

          "I felt good directly after the final whistle," he added.

          Sky Sport News in Germany had reported on Tuesday morning that Gnabry was set to return to his homeland with Bayern and sent immediately on loan to Bremen.

          Asked to confirm the report, the player's father, former Ivory Coast international Jean-Hermann Gnabry, told Stuttgarter Zeitung: "Yes, it's like that."

          Speaking to radio station SWR, he added: "I would have preferred it if had Serge come out on top at Arsenal. He's still under contract until 2017, but has already left in his thoughts. Bayern are just like Arsenal."

          However, Bremen officially announced Gnabry's signing the following day and strongly denied any involvement from Bayern and Gnabry Sr. later backtracked on his claim.

          General manager Frank Baumann said: "There aren't any agreements with other clubs. Serge Gnabry is our player. We have bought him."

          But kicker maintain the Bundesliga champions are paying the reported €5m-6m fee on behalf of Bremen and have also secured a buyout clause after a year. Bayern have yet to comment on the speculation.

          ESPN FC's Bayern Munich correspondent Mark Lovell contributed to this report.