BERLIN, Dec 24 (Reuters) Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has said he would prefer to stay with English premier league Arsenal while remaining open to a move to Spain or back to the Bundesliga.

''I don't know,'' Lehmann, 37, told Bild am Sonntag when asked if he would leave Arsenal at the end of the season. ''But in the talks about my future, Arsenal definitely has top priority.'' Lehmann said he was not especially bothered by the tradition at Arsenal of offering one-year contracts only to players over 30, saying he had already signed three of those in London.

''A one-year contract wouldn't be so bad,'' he said. ''But hold on, I'm not saying that there is a 100 percent chance I would stay in the event of an Arsenal offer. One has to look closely at everything. If there is no agreement with Arsenal, I'm open.'' Lehmann, who helped take Arsenal to the Champions League final last season where they lost to Barcelona and then helped Germany advance to the World Cup semi-finals before losing to Italy, said clubs in Spain and Germany would interest him.

''I might not make a decision until May,'' he said. ''I'm pretty relaxed about my whole situation.'' REUTERS DH PM1839