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6 years ago, FC Koln’s Lukas Podolski was one of the hottest talents in the world – a 21 year old, and yet, a starter for one of the biggest nations in the world in Germany, heading into the 2006 World Cup. He didn’t disappoint or get frightened by the big stage, netting 3 goals as Die Mannschaft finished 3rd with Podolski winning the Best Young Player award ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

A big move followed afterwards as Podolski joined Bayern Munich for around €10 million – however, the move proved to be a disaster as the German netted only 15 league goals in 71 league appearances and fell behind the striking pecking order, eventually going back to hometown club, Koln.

“Maybe I was too young to do myself justice at a leading club like Bayern. Now it’s a different story. I’m older, wiser and more mature. I have 100 caps for Germany and have seen so much more in this game. I can’t wait to get started in the Premier League.” – Lukas Podolski.

And so, when Arsenal signed the German – now 27 years old – in the summer of 2012, there were doubts on whether Podolski would be able to make the transition from his hometown club – where he scored 18 league goals last season – to a bigger club in a bigger league, bundled along with Champions League football, outside his comfort zone. Would it be a repeat of the Bayern move? Would Podolski adjust outside of Germany? As of now, those doubts are erased.

“It annoys me that some people think I can only perform at Koln and only when I live in this city. That gets on my nerves. They claim something that is simply not right. I can also feel well and perform at my best in other surroundings.” – Lukas Podolski in 2011.

At the time of writing, Lukas Podolski’s Arsenal record is currently 3 goals and an assist in 5 games with the German showing no signs of needing time to adapt. He has led the line superbly, especially given the fact that he, along with Olivier Giroud were given the task of replacing the club’s talisman and former captain, Robin van Persie, as the Dutchman left for rivals, Manchester United just a few weeks after their arrivals.

Many, including myself, expected Giroud to hit the ground running while Podolski would be the one who would take some time to go off the mark, but it’s been the complete opposite as only 6 other players have scored more than the German in the league so far out of the 4 games played so far. Following his recent performances, Steve Bould has had nothing but praise for the former Bayern Munich man:

“I have not seen many finishers as good as Podolski thoughout my career. He has made a huge impact on every at Arsenal, both on match days and in the build-up to games. In training, right foot or left foot, his shots fly in at 100mph. He has really added something this year and while I’m not getting involved in whether we are missing Robin [van Persie], it is clear that we have signed a great player in Podolski.” – Arsenal assistant manager, Steve Bould.

It’s still early days but as Bould pointed out, Arsenal have signed a great player in Podolski who is more than capable of making the Arsenal faithful forget about a certain Dutchman.

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Categories: Features