It seems to me that the time has come for Arsenal to allow the Germany international striker Lukas Podolski to leave the club, if that is what he wants. And unless Arsene Wenger starts to play the 29-year old on a regular basis, then Podolski’s recent complaints tell you that is what he will want. And I think it would be a mistake for the boss to keep him at the club when he is unhappy.
I personally like the German forward and wish that the Prof had a bit more faith in him. I know that he sometimes does not put in the amount or work and tracking back as you would like. And he is not the same sort of fluent passer as Cazorla, Ozil and all, but he is a top class finisher and given a run of games I reckon he would start to flourish.
But the fact is that is not currently happening and that is before Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud are fully fit and back in the team. And then the Gunners have the young strikers Joel Campbell and Yaya Sanogo coming through, so the attacking side of the squad is pretty well covered.
If Wenger does stick to what he told Bein Sports and refuse to sell Podolski in the January transfer window, then we could soon find that the forward turns from being a positive influence in the dressing room with his humour and high spirits, to being a disruptive one.
Wenger said, “It is not established at all that he will leave at Christmas. It is me who sets the price and [the reported deal] doesn’t correspond at all to his price.
“He is not for sale and there is no offer.
“Podolski plays a position where there is a big competition. He came very late from his holidays [after the World Cup in the summer], so he started after his team-mates and was not good physically.”
And if POdolski is still in the Arsenal squad after January, when the odd chance to play up front does come along, Campbell and Sanogo are less likely to get the game time they need to stay happy and gain valuable experience. So is Wenger making a big mistake?
“Podolski plays a position where there is a big competition.”
As far as I know he’s the only pure left winger in the squad. But yeah if you buy 30 attacking midfielders to compete I guess it’s sort of true.
I still think Podolski is a good player, but considering his age I think it is time to let him go while we can still make a decent enough profit off him. In 2 years he will be worth a fraction of what he is worth now. We have suitable talent like Campbell and Ox whom can be played down the left and I agree with the first comment his sale can accommodate the purchase and salary of a new DM or CB which is where we desperately need strengthening.
Personally, I don’t think “age” really counts. If a player is still very agile, strong and pacey, I think he should keep playing. After all, we have very young players who are very lazy and lack stamina, it doesn’t mean they should always play simply because they are young.
Damn true!!
I generally agree with your comment, but in this case it’s not true because Podolski has slowed down considerably and also lacks defensive responsibility. I really believe that wingers need to have pace to be truly effective – Reus, Ronaldo, Walcott, Di Maria, Robben, Ribery are some of the best players in the world, and they all have one thing in common – pace. A winger cannot be 100% effective if he cannot dribble and pass his man. Just look at some of the players that have been utlized on the LW – Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsey even Wilshere – highly ineffective because none of them have that pace to beat players down the flank. Wenger needs to start either playing Cambpell or Ox down the left to give us an added dimension to our attack. Right now, it is being wasted.
Most of the Gooners when writing about Poldi write ” I like Poldi BUT … “… I mean c’mon.
Either write he sucks or he rocks. Make up your mind. #RemoveBUT 😀
Podolski sucks and rocks.
its a shame he cant STRIKE and DEFEND
His But No But Ye But NOT GOOD ENOUGH unless he gets supper fit and runs around defending and striking like Sanchez, stay after training for more training like the likes of Renaldo and Sanches who are great players, if he wont help himself no one will wan him.
who is good enough, if not Poldi?
Ks-Gunner Poldi is his own worst enemy, he must decide weather to play for a “almost big” team or a lesser team, if its the later then he must go to Mid table or lower to get week and week out game but if he wants to stay and fight for us he must work harder, he has the talent but not the hart.
Ks-Guuner i don’t think our problem is scoring goals its defending, we have enough fire power in the team.
Tas, defending is definitely our problem but is not Poldi’s main responsibility, to pin that on him is very unfair…he’s a goal scorer and a damn good one and itis a shame that AW is so damn stubborn to see that…
Podolski’s butt is Arsene’s to boot, but he wouldn’t.
#RemoveBut.
PLEASE READ
Why do articles primarily get posted on this site? Well, mainly because fans should read and express their views. We all visit the official site of Arsenal, but they are very selective about what they post there– just like government owned broadcast stations, they only want you to read and see what they want you to– they try to control your perception.
But when you visit a site like JustArsenal that is supposed to be mainly for the fans, that’s supposed to allow every fan express his opinion about Arsenal, irrespective of his perspective, that’s supposed to post everything about Arsenal, whether positive or negative, and you realise there are certain views they (JustArsenal Admin crew, backed by a number of pro-Wenger fans) “expect” you to stick to the so called “positives”, (even when there’s nothing majorly positive worth holding onto) and they perceive you as a negative and distortive influence on the site when you refuse to applaud the negetative happenings in the club, you are left dazed…
I do have some seemingly rhetorical questions: At what point should one stop complaining about a particular problem? Does it mean that just because someone is your friend, boss or even your father, you should not point out the person’s errors or wrong doings, particularly when they are repetitive or seemingly deliberately done?
Do you think some fans are taking things too personally? Then you are right and here’s why: Fans pay for the seats at the Emirates, fans pay to view these matches on tv, fans purchase the club’s merchandise with their hard earned cash, fans pay for internet subscriptions to follow the club online, FANS PAY FOR EVERYTHING.
The board does not run the club for free. Wenger IS AN EMPLOYED STAFF. The players are being paid stupendous sums weekly. But how about us, the fans? Ours is to spend. SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! We even spend our emotions on the club– a very tasky task. Some fans do bet on the club; do you expect such fans to be merry when the club loses, like we did against Swansea?
When negative things kEep happening, negative reactions will be warranted. Fans are not robots (I may be wrong about that because some fans seem to have been programmed to never see anything wrong with the club and Wenger in particular).
Feels like you are speaking from the depths of your heart.
I feel your pain, dude. Oh to be a gunner!!
we are anonymous. we are legion. we do not forgive. we do not forget….expect us.. loooll
Lol! @Ks and @Usmanov
When Anelka is bought for 500.000 and then sold for 22 milion, do you think that 21milion profit for buying other things is paid by fans?
#removeBUT. Poldi has a good left but he seems to get lost in the field of play
from day one, I said Poldi is not suitable for us. in Arsenal, Poldi is a 15-30 mins player. his overall game contribution is low. but He is the most clinical striker we have and he is suitable for team don’t play with possession. I hope he will stay at least until end of the season. we need him when we are behind.
Podolski isn’t good enough anymore however Wenger should still give him a chance.
Also, is Koscielny back for Saturday? I bloody hope so, I’d honestly rather have a back four consisting of:
Bellerin Mert Chambers Gibbs
Rather than:
Chambers Mert Monreal Gibbs
I just don’t trust Monreal in any position let alone bloody centre back.
Poldi is on a 100k contract, something Wenger cant let him earn according to his socialist wage poletics.
I know, and you people know, which player is going to stay and what player will be deff off. We have become such inside experts that nothing is going to surprise us anymore.
Poldi will be off, Wenger disslikes him, and dont be surprised if Wenger wont bother to replace him at all.
Podolski is a deadly winger or center-forward in an old fashioned set up. Give him Big Sam or any coach in that mold and you will see how much you are missing. He thrives much better in any formation other than our favored 4-2-3-1. But we can’t shift much from this formation since we are short of personnel to implement the repressive 4-1-4-1, 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 to suit his play.
FA Cup anyone?
When Sanogo replaces a player and is more effective than that certain player, it speaks volume.
Podolski, Cazorla(got nothing against them, all 30+ players can’t retire with us, they have to move on at some point), are in the right age to be sold and replaced with better and younger players.
Your 30+ babbling is bs and biased anywhey, you say this bec you are trying to find a good excuse to explain to your self why Wenger is not using some players correctly but rather tends to be in favor of some certain players.
Sonogo is not a better player then Cambell, yet he is way further on the picking order then the likes of Poldi, Cambell, hell even Akpom is a better striker then him.
Sanogo was picked because he is a ST sub while Giroud is still out. Cambell was not picked because he must compete with many players who can play at RW in our team. If you say Akpom is better striker then it is your own personal opinion, no evidence. Funny how you keep saying other people tatical inept while you don’t understand the very fundamental of football. No one wants to protect Wenger, I don’t see Sumo mentioned anything about Wenger. We just want to be rational. It is only you who has so much hatred in that man. God bless your soul.
nice try sumo
Wenger is probably lying to keep the price tag from falling. Yes, he should either give Podolski more playing time or sell him. His sale value will only go down with more time on the bench.
wenger is one sick a**
To be fair, it’s one of many mistakes
1. Not playing Podolski
2. Not playing Campbell
3. Not playing rosicky
4. Not signing enough defenders
5. Not signing a top striker
6. Not signing a top DM
7. Playing Ozil on wing
8. Playing Cazorla on wing
9. Playing Monreal CB instead of Chambers
10. Playing Chambers RB instead of Bellerin
Too many mistakes for a top manager
just out of curiosity. All pro Usmanov taking over (thumbs up), if you want current regime (thumbs down)