Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal making a huge mistake with Lukas Podolski

By Josh Sippie

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I have had very little problems with Lukas Podolski throughout his tenure at Arsenal. The guy has a wicked left-footed shot, he has a Cazorla-like personality and he can turn a game around when he steps on the pitch. He may have had some falling outs with Arsene Wenger, particularly after Wenger made it a prerequisite for all players to defend, but at the end of the day, bringing on Lukas Podolski late in the game inspired confidence.

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He was a bonafide scorer.

Reports have indicated that Lukas Podolski has seen his last at Arsenal and is set to move on to Galatasaray. “I have agreed with Galatasaray. I want to leave,” the German reportedly said (via the Metro). While that goes against everything the hammer-footed striker has said in the past, it makes sense from his point of view, as Wenger is clearly not too keen on his services.

And therein is what I do not understand. With Arsenal in need of striking options, particularly a variety of striking options, why not give Lukas Podolski another go? With Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, you have to different styles of play. Throw in Podolski and you have a hybrid that blends the two while adding the perk of being able to score from just about anywhere. Seems like the perfect, money-saving option until someone else emerges from the Arsenal system.

The report also indicates that Arsenal will only get 2.1 million pounds for Podolski, a number that I find almost comical. Unless Wenger is literally losing sleep over the thunder-toed lefty, then why is he treating him like an old lamp at a garage sale?

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Lukas Podolski has been a good, quality striker for Arsenal when given the chance. He was brought on in 2012 along with Olivier Giroud and the two were pitted against each other in a little internal competition that was almost immediately won by Giroud.

However, despite that, Podolski still managed an excellent goal return in his time at striker and at his less-favored left wing. He scored 28 goals in 69 appearances in his first two years with the team whereas Giroud scored 39 in 98. Believe it or not, that puts Pods goals per game at .41 and Giroud’s at .39 through their first two years.

Sometimes it takes time to get acclimated and as we saw from Giroud this year, it can pay massive dividends when it does, as he stepped his goals per game up to .53.

Lukas Podolski is a goal scorer. He was scoring a goal every other game for FC Koln and who knows what another consistent year at Arsenal, like Giroud got, could have done for him. He could very well have scored just as many goals as Giroud.

Now is the time to give a hungry Lukas Podolski another chance to prove himself, not sell him for a pocket change and a stick of bubblegum.

Next: What would Cech signing mean for everyone else?

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