It is safe to say Arsene Wenger had a mixed record with signings for Arsenal after the club moved to the Emirates in 2006.
Due to the costs of building the new stadium, the Gunners could not match the spending power of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, falling behind as a result.
Yet the summer window in 2012 remains a good one, with the likes of Nacho Monreal, fans’ favourite Santi Cazorla, and underrated striker Olivier Giroud all signing for the club.
And those three players were joined in North London by a former Bayern Munich youngster and another great talent who is still going strong at the ripe-old age of 39.
Lukas Podolski signs for Arsenal in 2012
Alongside Cazorla, Giroud and Monreal, Lukas Podolski made the switch from German side FC Koln to Arsenal in a deal worth £11m.
Fresh off the back of scoring 18 goals in 29 appearances in the Bundesliga, Podolski made a decent start for Wenger’s side, most notably scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win at Anfield in September 2012, still the last time Arsenal beat Liverpool away from home in the Premier League.
Yet Podolski’s career at Arsenal was mixed, Wenger not seeming to fancy him ahead of Arsenal’s other attacking options. Indeed, the Frenchman reduced the forward’s minutes season on season, before allowing the then 29-year-old to leave for Inter Milan on loan in January 2015 after Podolski made his frustrations public.
| Season | Appearances | Goals |
| 2012/13 | 42 | 16 |
| 2013/14 | 27 | 12 |
| 2014/15 | 13 | 3 |
Podolski nonetheless remains well-liked by Arsenal fans. This is due to some of the screamers he scored with his wonderful left foot, his celebrations in the away end at White Hart Lane after Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham 1-0 in 2014, and because he helped the club end their nine-year trophy drought with success in the 2014 FA Cup.
Alongside club teammates Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil, Podolski was also part of the Germany side which won the 2014 World Cup, featuring in group games against the USA and Portugal.
Turkey, Japan and Poland – Podolski’s career after Arsenal
After featuring 18 times for Inter while on loan, Podolski left Arsenal for Galatasaray on a permanent deal in the summer of 2015.
He stayed in Istanbul for two seasons, making 75 appearances and scoring 34 goals in all competitions, before moving to Japanese side Vissel Kobe.
A three-year stint in Japan followed, during which Podolski played alongside Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta after the Spaniard signed in 2018. Both Iniesta and Podolski helped Vissel Kobe to their first-ever major trophy, the 2019 Emperor’s Cup, thanks to a 2-0 victory against Kashima Antlers in the final.
A move back to Turkey came in January 2020, this time to Antalyaspor, before Podolski made the switch to Ekstraklasa side Gornik Zabrze.
He has since made 105 appearances in all competitions in Poland, including 17 this season, scoring 23 goals.
Still going strong in Poland, the forward could have a few years left in him yet.
The post He’s a World Cup winner signed in 2012 by Arsene Wenger – now he’s bagging goals for fun at 39 in the Polish Ekstraklasa appeared first on HITC.
