I can vividly remember how Arsenal courted Podolski in his twilight campaign with FC Cologne. It was one of the world’s best kept secrets. Arsene Wenger continued to hide info from the Press, denying if he was linked with the forward. Finally, the cat was let out of the bag and we heard that he was going to be among the highest earners at the club. With his pedigree for being a lethal finisher as well as his impressive goal to game ratio for Germany, many Arsenal fans were excited with the prospect of having such a talented individual in the club.
Robin van Persie’s exit was a bitter pill to swallow but Podolski and his fellow new recruit, Olivier Giroud, combined to score 33 goals. In his second season with the club, Podolski suffered a torn hamstring that sidelined him for four months before making his comeback in December. He ended that campaign with 12 goals in 27 apps but this season, his stock fell so low and he has fallen out of favor with the manager. With the acquisitions of Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, he has also gone further down the pecking order.
With the European Championships coming up this summer, Podolski won’t want to be left out from the Die Mannschaft squad with the likes of Marco Reus and Julian Draxler ahead of him in Jogi Loew’s plans. According to the Mail Online, Italian outfit, Internazionale, are bracing up to prepare a six-month loan deal for the German. Following their 2-2 draw with Lazio, the San Siro-based outfit are 11th in the Serie A table and are clearly struggling. Signing a player like Podolski would bolster their attack and his finishing prowess can be beneficial to them in the short term.
There is no talk about making the deal permanent so the team has identified Podolski as a short-term fix for their current predicament. The player himself would have something to prove bearing in mind that he has been deemed not good enough in a club like Arsenal.
I’d follow the situation closely and we would see how things pan out in the coming weeks.
Sayonara
