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?