Lukas Podolski says a return to the Bundesliga isn’t out of the question in the future but insists he’s still eager to see out his current deal at Arsenal.

The German international, who is under contract at the Emirates until the summer of 2016, has been repeatedly tipped to end his career at former club Cologne while Schalke have been mooted as a possible destination should Arsene Wenger try and lure Julian Draxler to London.

Speaking to Transfermarkt (translated by Sport Witness) about his future plans the 28-year-old reflected that his preference should he return to Germany would be a third spell at his hometown side.

“The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world and therefore in principle always interesting. In the Bundesliga, my thoughts naturally turn first to the FC [Cologne]. That is much more than a club for me, this is my home. Maybe I’ll play again with the The Billy Goats, this is for me always an option and matter of the heart.”

A regular at the RheinEnergieStadium, where he has his own hospitality suite named in his honour, Podolski watched Cologne seal promotion back to the Bundesliga earlier this week. However, despite his obvious affection for the club that gave him his big break, the striker did stress that he’s content in London.

“[I have an Arsenal contract] Which I would also like to meet. But as I said, yes, you never know in football. Sometimes everything happens very quickly.”

Arseblog News thinks it’d be a shame to see Poldi leave as soon as this summer, especially as we sense there’s so much more to come from him. He’s quite the enigma; in an instant capable of changing a game, but so often caught loping on the left flank like a mopey teenager.