Talking to the press after Arsenal’s Champions League win over Anderlecht, Arsene Wenger explained why German International Lukas Podolski has been largely unused this season. Wenger suggested that the lack of match fitness has been Podolski’s hindrance as he is yet to recover from his World Cup duties in Brazil.
Podolski scored the winning goal against Anderlecht on Wednesday in the closing minutes of the game after coming on from the bench, saving an embarrassment for the Gunners at the hands of the Champions League minnows. It was Podolski’s first goal of the season in only his second appearance.
“We know Podolski can always score. He is frustrated and I understand that of course. But he’s important as well and he showed that tonight and he will be important in the coming months.
“It took him a while to get back to a good physical level [after the World Cup] and now he’s nearly there.”
The German International was rumoured with an exit over the summer following the arrival of Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez, but he pledged his future with the Gunners after having talks with Wenger. The World Cup winner recently reacted sternly to rumours that he will move to Gunners’ fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur in January. The BBC referenced a report suggesting that Podolski could well join Spurs as Maurico Pochettino side are preparing a £10 m bid for the player, to which, Podolski replied by tweeting ‘hell will freeze over’ before he could join Spurs, while using the hashtags ‘always a Gunner’ and ‘never cheat on your club.’
Wenger further added that,
“He [Podolski] was never close to leaving. He has 115 caps for Germany – that is not a coincidence, that shows you his quality. I think he is a guy you want to have the ball in the box. His shot is fantastic, his accuracy is great and he has very short back lift. He nearly scored before and I know when he comes on he can score.”
With Theo Walcott close to his return, Podolski might further go down the pecking order. However if he manages to gain full fitness, expect the German to be involved more especially as the current crop of Arsenal attackers are shy to take their shots