The Lukas Podolski situation is a curious one. The attacker has often been praised by his boss Arsene Wenger as the clubs best finisher. Yet gametime since his return from injury has been very minimal.
The upbeat German continues to show his love for the club and life in London, however there is a suspicision that he could be out the exit door this summer should his footballing situation not change.
Age-wise he’s in the prime years of his career. At 28 he has already amassed over 100 caps for his country and was a vital cog of Arsenal’s attacking front line last season scoring 15 goals in all competitions.
This campaign has been largely interrupted by a three month absence from a serious hamstring injury sustained in the pointless UCL qualifier against the eventually suspended Fenerbahce. But still the stats suggest a clinical edge he adds to Arsenal’s attack.
In four starts and five substitute appearances this season he’s still managed to amass five goals. At a point in time when Arsenal need a forward to be efficient in front of goal, even from wide positions, our situation screams ‘Podolski’!
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Wenger appears to be freezing him out, game by game he’s becoming less of a regular feature in this Arsenal side. Subbed on late against Liverpool while the game was buried, unused against Manchester United, surely he has to start against Liverpool.. Right?
It may be a case of his injury affecting him more than we know. Perhaps he’s lost a yard of pace or a drop in stamina? A serious tear of a hamstring could be more damaging than we thought. He appears sharp and is in good spirits generally, so there must be more to it.
Back to the United point, the German is the best finisher in the squad at the moment yet when we needed a goal on Wednesday he wasn’t called upon.
That said, Wenger didn’t want to lose against David Moyes’ men so that could have been a factor as to not bring on the attacker. But surely there is no reason at all not to field him this Sunday especially with Cazorla sick.
This weekend may be pivotal in the Arsenal career of Podolski. Let’s hope he’s still not frozen out of the side and is given a real chance to prove his ability. It’s World Cup year after all, he may not forgive Wenger if he continues to freeze him out.
What are your thoughts Gooners?
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