Lukas Podolski’s Instagram Joke: Well-Timed or Boneheaded?

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Who doesn’t like a good joke? I do.  You probably do too. But jokes are all about timing, and while what Lukas Podolski did is incredibly funny, the timing may be a bit off.

The fiasco started when Podolski was asked to enter the atrocious Borussia Dortmund debacle in the 76th minute. Cameramen spotted the German international poking about the bench, looking under Aaron Ramsey and under Mesut Ozil for his missing shin-pad. In the end, he was never able to find it and had to borrow his countryman Ozil’s pads so that he could get in the game.

We’ll go ahead and credit his missing shin-pads to his missing impact on the game as well, because Poldi did next to nothing except for one last ditch attempt to rescue a goal.

Anyways, after the game, Podolski, an avid Instagram user, posted a spoof of “Where’s Waldo,” but changed it to “Where’s my shin-pad?” As seen below.

I for one, found this incredibly hilarious and it really lightened up the horrible loss Arsenal had just suffered, but the question remains, is that really something we should be making light of? I don’t see Jack Wlshere and Wojciech Szczesny posting hysterical pictures on their social media sites – probably because they are actually upset about the loss.

But Poldi found it in his best interest to try to lighten the mood a little. It’s a funny little gag, I don’t think that can be denied, but he is already meeting with some heavy criticism for the timing of it all. The critics are swarming Arsenal and berating their ineptitude and Podolski is posting funny little quips on Instagram.

I can see how this wouldn’t sit well with the fans and perhaps some of the players (though we haven’t heard their opinions), but I’m siding with Lukas Podolski. It’s early in the season, Arsenal are by no means done and dusted in any competition. If we start mashing panic buttons now, we risk destroying this season.

What Podolski did, whether it was his intention or not, was lighten the mood a little bit.

There’s a long season ahead and tons of matches still to be played. But how often do we see a perfectly placed joke? (That’s sarcasm)

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