Bayern bound? Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger tipped to succeed Niko Kovac at Bayern Munich

Reports suggest that former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is in pole position to take over as head coach at Bayern Munich after the club's preferred candidates ruled themselves out of contention for German football's biggest job.

Frenchman Wenger, 70, has been out of work since ending his 22-year association with The Gunners last year but he could be in line for a return to top level management, as ESPN reports that he is now top of the queue to fill the managerial void in Munich.

Hansi Flick has taken over temporary charge of the club following Kovac's departure after a string of poor results, but it is thought that his spell in charge will be a brief one as the club settle on a new manager.

Their hunt hasn't been without its setbacks though, as former Dortmund and current PSG boss Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out of the running, and so too have Ralf Rangnick and current Ajax coach Erik ten Hag.

With the club's top targets either unavailable or unwilling, that leaves veteran coach Wenger at the top of the list and the French coach has admitted that he would be interested in taking the reins in Bavaria.

His candidacy is helped by the fact that he is a fluent German speaker and his history of playing the type of fluid, attacking football craved by Bayern Munich supporters.

"Of course, coaching is my whole life until now," Wenger said when asked about his interest in the job while working as an analyst for beIN Sports. 

"Everybody who has coached will tell you the same. You miss the intensity. There are some things you miss big, and some thing you don't miss. I enjoyed as well the things I don't miss too much. 

"But on the other hand winning a football game, preparing a team for a game and developing players and get satisfaction [and] shared emotions. It is something that you miss."

Multiple-time Scudetto winning ex-Juventus coach Max Allegri is also understood to have made the club's shortlist but it is understood that it would be difficult to persuade him to deviate from his plan of a year-long sabbatical from the game leaving Wenger, almost by default, as the top candidate.