The official site has reported that Lukas Podolski has been honored with the prestigious Player of the Month award for April. This is an award that has been dominated by Aaron Ramsey for a considerable chunk of the season but his injury paved the way for others to step up a plate.
Podolski receives this award after a good goalscoring run that saw him score four goals in the five games he played in the course of the month. He even managed to amass 90 minutes in some games, a feat that seems to be a rarity in recent times.
In honor of Podolski, Gooner Daily has decided to review his performances in the course of the month to ascertain why he was favored ahead of FA Cup semifinal penalty-saving hero, Lukasz Fabianski and everyone’s favourite, Aaron Ramsey.
Arsenal began the month of April with the last tough fixture of those run of games that saw the Gunners take on some big sides which had a detrimental effect on the Gunners title charge. Podolski started against Everton but he and his teammates had bad days in the office as the Toffees ran riot on Arsenal scoring three goals which put Arsenal’s Champions League hopes on a thin thread.
Shortly after the Everton debacle, Arsenal had an all-important clash against Wigan Athletic and Per Mertesacker was on the spotlight as he was directly involved in the goals scored by both teams. Podolski had a somewhat peripheral outing against the Championship outfit and he was even substituted, much to his disgust. Fabianski became the hero as his saves played a role in Arsenal’s booking a place in the final.
With a place in Wembley secured, Arsenal faced West Ham just two days after and they had enough in the tank to see out Sam Allardyce’s team. Podolski was key as he took his chances clinically with two goals that helped Arsenal grab all three points. Podolski’s hot streak continued as he blasted in another brace against Hull to make it an amazing four goals in two games.
Arsenal’s last match of the month was against Newcastle and Podolski had another chance to get on the score sheet but his attempt on goal missed the target by a lick of paint.
With these performances, the fans felt justified in voting for the German machine and in my honest opinion, it’s well deserved.
According to Who Scored, Podolski has scored eight goals in 18 Premier League games (12 starts) and he averages 1.8 shots per game. Podolski is one of the highest earners at the team and he suffered a hamstring tear in Autumn, since his return to full fitness, he struggled to command a first-team berth and he found himself out of favor with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tomas Rosicky above him in the pecking order.
He has been getting a consistent run of games on the left wing and it’s good to know that he has been scoring some vital goals that has helped the club surge for a fourth place finish.
Here’s to Lukas Podolski.
Arsenal’s Player of the Month for April.
Aha!
