Robin van Persie has been linked with a move away from Arsenal in the summer. It is thought that Manchester City will be making a £ 30 million offer for the player in the summer, who has just one year left on his current contract. As a result, Arsenal will be tempted into selling him just as they did with French playmaker Samir Nasri last summer. However, Wenger reckons that Podolski’s arrival will be a major coup for Arsenal because it not only provides them with the option, but it will also help them persuade van Persie to sign a new contract.

“Great players like to be with great players, so it helps always to get them in. First, we want Robin to stay because he is convinced that we can play for the championship. I believe we have that. We have bought Podolski; our next step is to bring [Jack] Wilshere back, [Abou] Diaby back, then if you look at our squad I don’t feel we are behind anybody else,” said Arsene Wenger after confirming the signing of Lukas Podolski. Arsenal are in a race to finish in the top three right now.

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Lukas Podolski has been linked with a number of clubs across Europe. Arsenal have been credited with having been accepted an offer of £ 10 million for the striker, but of late, the striker has been linked with a move to Italy due to the presence of German international Miroslav Klose. Now, however, Arsenal seem to be back in the forefront for signing the German international after it was revealed that he has agreed personal terms with the London club.

Even though Cologne are unwilling to reveal the details of his transfer, it is thought that they have agreed a £ 10 million fee with the English club. Cologne are currently down near the bottom of the Bundesliga table in the 16th position. Lukas Podolski has already spoken of his desire to win trophies in the remaining few years of his career. The 26-year-old has said that he does not see the ability to win trophies at Cologne. The former Bayern Munich man has been one of the reasons for Cologne staying in the division.

It remains to be seen whether the arrival of Lukas Podolski at the Emirates stadium will mean that star striker Robin van Persie will depart in the summer. The Dutchman is out of contract at the end of next season, which has prompted speculation that Arsenal will be interested in taking an offer for the 28-year-old. However, there have also been suggestions that Podolski will be able to play alongside Robin van Persie next season. Manchester city are linked heavily with making a concrete bid for van Persie in the summer.

The Dutchman has so far scored 33 goals in the Premier league alone, but he is out of contract after just one season. He has been linked with a move to Manchester City, who are willing to offer him up to £ 250,000 a week. As a result, Arsenal are lining up the signing of Lukas Podolski as a replacement for van Persie. Ray Parlour, though, suggests that both Lukas Podolski and van Persie can play in the same team, with the latter to benefit from it hugely.

Ray Parlour won 3 league titles with Arsenal during his career with the London team. Now, he has said that he is extremely looking forward to the prospect of seeing both the strikers at the club next season. Even though there has been no development with regard to the Robin van Persie contract situation, Parlour has said that van Persie will eventually sign a long-term contract and that he has the best possibility to play regular football at Arsenal.

‘He is still young and can learn from Arsene Wenger and the players around him, but he has international class and I think Van Persie’s game will benefit as a result. To some extent Van Persie needs to have the pressure of being the main man who gets all the goals taken from him. Podolski will be eager to do that,’ said Parlour in an interview with the betting sites.

Parlour also said that Podolski is a huge signing for Arsenal and he may be someone who will finally bring Arsenal’s trophy drought to an end. Arsenal haven’t won a trophy in the last 6 seasons and, according to the Betfair FA Cup odds, won’t be winning another trophy any time soon.

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Many believe that Arsene Wenger was downplaying the fact that they had signed for the best strikers in Europe, but it seems that they have indeed not. This news comes after last year have confirmed that they are currently holding talks with Lukas Podolski over a potential transfer. They have also expressed confidence that Podolski will have the courage to snub Arsenal over the potential Italian move. Lazio are currently third in the Italian Serie A and will be able to offer the prospect of Champions League football next season.

“Contrary to reports from the past few days, nothing has been decided yet. If there is something to report, then I’ll do it. It would be great to play alongside him again, Miro has spoken well of Lazio and he’s happy in Rome. My future has yet to be decided,” Lukas Podolski said in a recent interview. One of the big factors towards Podolski moving to Italy would be the presence of former Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose, with whom Podolski is known to share are good bond.

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Cologne decided to sign Lukas Podolski a few seasons ago after the German striker said that he was not comfortable at Bayern Munich. Initially, the return to his hometown club went extremely well for the German striker, but the relationship has turned sour of late. Lukas Podolski recently gave an interview in a magazine, in which he appeared to suggest that Cologne have made false promises in order to complete his return from Bayern Munich.

Lukas Podolski moved from Bayern Munich nearly 3 seasons ago. He has been largely ineffective over the last couple of months. It has been rumoured that Podolski is looking for a move away from Cologne due to the fact that his hometown club have been unable to match his ambitions. In a recent interview, Podolski said that Cologne had made promises when they were trying to sign him from Bayern Munich. None of the promises have been met and that he would like to leave the club for the benefit of his career.

“Of course such a high-profile player has every right to speak out publicly, but we are surprised about the timing and the content of an interview on the day in which we had a very important game against Hamburg. The interview had not been agreed with us, nor had we authorised its publication,” Cologne general manager Claus Horstmann said. It has also been reported that Lukas Podolski will be fined by Cologne due to the unauthorised remarks he made against the club. Cologne are currently in the 12th position in the table with very little chance to make it into the Champions League.

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In order to add further fuel to the fire, Lukas Podolski’s agent has confirmed that there has been interest from other clubs like AC Milan and Arsenal. He has said that even though his client is comfortable at the moment, he does not rule out any potential moves in the future. The player himself is yet to commit long term contract with the club leading to more speculations.

Lukas Podolski seems to have reignited the passion for football in him once again, as he has been scoring a number of goals in the German Bundesliga this season. So far, he has got 14 goals from 16 matches for his club. Lukas Podolski failed to live up to the expectations of his former club Bayern Munich and has been spending time at his hometown club Koln since moving a few years ago. Even though it is thought that his passion is to play for his hometown club, he is also looking to lift a few trophies while he is at the peak of his career.

“Milan? We don’t comment on these rumours. There are a bunch of rumours on him, every day there are calls from Italy, from England and even from Russia. The real truth is that Lukas has a contract with Koln and he is comfortable there. At the moment this is how things are,” Lukas Podolski’s agent Scramm exclusively told a major tabloid paper. The current contract of the 26-year-old will come to an end in 2013, by which time he will be free to move to a club on a Bosman.