Reports from various sources suggest that Lukas Podolski is travelling to Milan this evening to finalise a loan deal until the end of the season.
The German international has been eager to leave Arsenal to get first team football with the Italian side long rumoured to be a possible destination.
Last night, Arsene Wenger admitted Roberto Mancini’s side had come back with an offer of interest to the club, saying, “The first proposal was farcical, after they came back a bit more serious, then we will see what happens now.
“Inevitable? Not in the transfer market, it’s very difficult to say, but we’ll see later.”
Later has arrived and it looks as if he’s on his way out.
More on this as it happens.
He’s arrived:
Ore 22.05: ecco @Podolski10, atterrato da poco a Milano #FCIM pic.twitter.com/FX7I3JFvIS
— F.C. Internazionale (@Inter) January 2, 2015
Any clubs want a manager on loan?
And who would you have instead? Rogers? Klopp? Martinez? Pardew? Moyes? AVB?
Any one would do, we currently have the weakest manager in the premiership, unless you wear rose tinted glasses that is
B̶r̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶C̶l̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ …Arsene Wenger is the greatest manager in the entire league! He gave us the FA cup and the invincibles 10 years ago! Surely, he should be allowed to stay for life?
Whaaaaaaaat
The problem with modern day football is everyone is a no it all
Clowns!
Yeah, nobody can replace arsene wenger such a brilliant manager atm, Wenger should be a̶r̶s̶e̶n̶e̶ arsenal manager for the rest of his life.
Jozzer come on man “who would you have instead” that sort of logic has been used time after time in football, politics, life and its an absolute fallacy. Just because we can’t see him now, doesn’t mean a candidate doesn’t exist.
Who would you have instead of Bruce Rioch- who was Wenger back then? How can you imagine a Russia without communism- who was Putin back then? Etcetc
So we should get a cryogenic chamber for Wenger because no other manager can manange the Arsenal eh?
Are people really surprised after all these years that Arsene Wenger is completly ruthless when it comes to selling players? He has never really given a fuck about selling good players.
Yes, because for our beloved leader money>success
Is podolski disruptive in the dressing room? why loan him out?
inter offered a loan deal? and that’s serious?
then what was the “farcical” offer? a loan offer for wenger?
if wenger has no confidence in him, then just sell him. loan him off for fuck man?
we had to make room Sanogo to make sure he is happy 🙂
So, who will Wenger get in to replace Podolski then?
I’m going for South Korean international ‘Fu King Nowan’
I still believe this is a big mistake.
And I’m sure if Podolski was on like 50,000 a week he wouldn’t be leaving, but economic wenger can’t justify having a 100,000 a week supersub
I don’t think it’s a money thing at all.
Oh come on! He has to free up wages so he can sign Cavani.
Loaning out a player doesn’t free up the wage expense much, if at all.
I was joking…
Not the primary driver, but I wouldn’t be so sure that it doesn’t at least have some bearing. He’s on big money, and if AW’s looking to bring a few in then it does free up some of the precious wage bill.
I was thinking of that great quote from Anchorman this morning..”well that escalated quickly!”
Giroud has plenty of critics within the fanbase, yet we get ten times from him what we do from podolski – who bizarrely enjoys limited criticism. i really like the guy, and despite some erroneous journalism, he has been relatively professional given his situation at arsenal. but he is on his way out because he is not deemed good enough, and I don;t understand the argument against that. We have Welbeck, alexis and even cazorla who are left sided players. where does Poldi fit there? He takes up a place in the squad because he’s handy as a sub against… Read more »
Totally agreed. If he was physical/fast enough to play up top, he would’ve stayed. After that didn’t work out, playing him on the wings wasn’t an option either because he isn’t committed to defending. Lets see Wide midfielder’s responsibilities/essential attributes and Podolski’s ability/rating for each attribute: Goalscoring : 9/10 Creating chances: 6/10 Pace : 6/10 Ability to stretch play(add width): 5/10. I’ve seen Campbell do it on a few occasions, but no one else is a true winger at our club) Big-game impact: 6/10. (Would like to see the stats for number of decisive goals he scored/ goals against big… Read more »
So welbeck is better than Poldi? sure welbeck offers workrate but his finishing is subpar, while poldi finishing is arguably the best we have on the squad
I thought I told you to change names! Just kidding 🙂
Welbeck is better than Podolski – younger, hungrier, and can play up top on his own. His finishing might not be as good as Lukas, but he makes up for it by creating more chances.
absolutely agree re: giroud. just have a look how poor we’ve been without him in the lineup vs. with him. it’s a world of difference and I’ve said it a million times over, our attack simply isn’t the same without his powerful presence up top.
I am starting to wonder if you have actually seen the games where podolski has played. Giroud better than Podolski? Is this some sort of fucking joke? Sure, when Giroud has a good day he is a good player. He is inconsistent as fuck however. He does not create anything by himself, he is slow as fuck, he can’t really dribble and get past defenders in 1on1 situations. We look freaking awful with Giroud in the team against the top teams. Defenders have an easy time closing the threat down. His stats against the top clubs is far from impressive.… Read more »
strange last match VS manure we dont look like scoring all match until OG came on and he score one
podolski is average at best (world class #hahahahhaha), this has been proven at the start of 2014 when wenger gave him the chance to prove his worth when OG got injured and he was dreaddfull. probably the worst player in the few match he play, and lost his place once giroud comeback. at the wage he get paid he is a very expensive sub and not worth the wait
oh surely a player that has 120+ caps for Germany are an average player. It is strange that Germany is world champions and yet play this ‘average’ player.
He has not been given a proper chance since day 1. As for the game against Manchester United? Fucking hell, even MK Dons scores goals against them. Their defence is even more shaky than ours.
Lukas Podolski world class? Errr I think not pal
Podolski was recognised as one of the top top world class strikers years ago. Wenger does not like his game but players who score lot of goals and contribute little in other areas have always existed in soccer. There are lot of them. The one that pops in my mind is Trezeguet. He contributes almost nothing else but an absolute legend for Juventus, won so many titles for them, golden boot year after year. Italy learned it the hardest way when only opportunity in extra time went to the top corner and France took the European title from them.
There are 21 points up for grabs when we play those poorest 7 clubs.
Please…podolski is a far better finisher than giroud will ever be. Wenger just doesn’t know how to podolski.
If poldi wasn’t “good enough”, then what is welbeck and giroud doing at the club??
Same thing happens to gervinho; he leaves and all of a sudden starts playing well.
All wenger seems to know these days is to stick any forward players he signs to the wings
Got to agree. This seems ludicrous to me.
For the first time in years we have some strength in depth up top.
But rather than rotate him into the team we’re going to get rid of one of our most natural finishers.
How is that in any way positive?
Selling Lukas Podolski for £5m (According to sources he is going there in permanent deal in the summer)
Absolute Bargain for Inter Milan. I’d like to congratulate Arsene Wenger for achieving another season of absolute misery. You are doing a great fucking job arsene! Now grab your coat and bring back Kim Källström on a permanent basis! After all, he is the only one that could add something to our squad remember!
Laughed my ass off. Made my day! Thanks m8 🙂
Do you think Wenger said to Mancini: “Tell ’em don’t waste my time”?
If he ain’t playing he’s got to go… tell em don’t waste my time, Milan with a farcical deal for loan… tell em don’t waste my time #AHA
Mistake or not, it looks like its going ahead.
Goodbye poldi, I will never forget your volley against marsaille or that goal against west ham at the Emirates.
You are by far the best finisher I’ve seen in the flesh. Hopefully you still follow us even though your going to Italy and you don’t forget us! Oh and spraying Wenger after the fa cup game was priceless.
Goodbye 🙁
Volley against Montpellier, not Marseille
My bad. All these french teams sound the same -.-
How the Fuck will a loan benefit Arsenal?
Why not sell him in the summer?
Any club he goes to will probably allow him to play. In which case he’ll probably score loads and his value will rise, which should benefit us when we sell him in the summer. Among my many criticisms of Wenger’s use of the club’s resources in recent years has been the way he has left some players rotting on the bench and declining in value, while making others play every game until they’ve turned into permanent cripples. Belatedly admitting that Poldi isn’t the type of striker he ever wanted is at least a small step forward, though it would have… Read more »
Yes- The annoying thing regarding Podolski was no-one claimed he should be the starting striker but most could see was there was a valuable role for him to play – a regular super-subs role. Sanchez predictably has been run so into the ground he has become a blunt instrument in the last few games. Podolski could have been rotated in with good effect over the last couple of months (likewise Campbell) and it’s not solely about resting a player. The more rotation the more the opposing team has to adjust. It’s another aspect of destabilizing the opposition which we (obviously)… Read more »
Gonna go the other way and flat out oppose this Podolski as the “kind of character you want in your squad/clubhouse” theory. When did sports science prove a causal link between banter in the dressing room and improved footballing performances? This aside from the fact that no-one outside of the squad knows what the dressing room chemistry is really like or whether it would currently benefit from more of a snarling brute personality and less of the “grade A social media presence” type (as a journalist recently described Podolski). Too many accept this idea of him as a valuable sub… Read more »
Well, call me naive but I’m one of those people that thinks there is something to the concept of team spirit.
But seriously, you presume a replacement striker is coming in January?
very sad, if predictable, news. I wish Lukas well at Inter.
How is a loan useful for us?
Harder to get a big fee in Jan. So you take a good loan fee (1.5m apparently) and hope he plays well enough that you can demand even more in summer.
I’d bet you a $100 that if Wenger fails to get enough bodies in this window someone will use the excuse that during the winter window every player has a bigger fee than usual, everyone of course except Arsenal players it seems.
And Sanogo looks like he is off as well. Are we going to bring in one forward of better quality to replace both of them? You’d have to think that’s doubtful..
Sanogo needs games. Trouble is, who’s going to provide them? It’s not just that other clubs inconveniently want three points of a Saturday, as opposed to seeing themselves as extensions of our academy. It’s also that Sanogo is pretty much always injured, which makes him an unattractive prospect for a small club that needs players who justify their wages. He’d been injured for almost two years when we signed him and doesn’t look to be improving much on that score. I can well believe he has lots of talent but his terrible injury history has held him back so at… Read more »
I don’t see us buying in attack. Giroud is coming back from suspension, Walcott from injury, and we have Welbeck and Alexis, of course. Ox also plays up front. Hence, Sanogo and Podolski are free to go.
I agree; we won’t buy any forwards. However, it doesn’t take more than Welbeck + Giroud out before we’re in trouble – based on the match this weekend, it was fairly obvious that we need a physical presence up front with our current tactic. We kept crossing the ball to Alexis and Cazorla, which is absurd.
Podolski leaving means Campbell / Akpom get more game time. If Sanogo leaves on loan its because he’s 4th in the pecking order and only needed incase of injuries
Not surprising really, I think its been on the cards since the summer. Part of me does feel for him, I think he does have something to offer us but Wenger obviously Wenger just doesn’t have faith in him.
I am sure we have already identified a replacement of top top quality in the transfer market.
nc
I will be sad to Podolski go, he is one of the best left footed strikers of the ball I have ever seen.
The optimist in me hopes that this loan/move/deal is to accomodate us signing Cavani!
Ok maybe I am in dreamland, but we need something to get us going again.
you are in dreamland, because PSG want 62 mil for cavani, wenger will never pay that much money for 28 years old forward plus his time in psg and league 1 was nothing special for his price to go up, if anything his price should go down, maybe in the summer wenger will go for him but i don’t see wenger pay anything more than 35 mil for him.
I may be in dreamland, but there has to be a reason for allowing Polodski to go.
Arsene Wenger must realise that the team/fans/club and everything and anything connected to Arsenal football club, need a massive boost on and off the pitch.
Wenger has spent money and big money on Ozil and Sanchez, maybe another big signing is on the way.
The reason is to free up his 100k wages, because wenger will not play him, he didn’t play him in the first half of the season, and certainly he will not play him now when walcott is hitting full fitness.
After the ridiculous amount of injuries so far this season this seems like a bad decision, it does not benefit the club at all to send him on loan. It might be good for the player and he is a likeable chap but the needs of the club should come first
hey all,
Does anyone know anybody selling 2 tickets for our home game v villa in start of Feb???? or where i can buy them??? ticket companies want well over £100 per ticket. i didn’t get a red membership so tickets hard to get,,, I’m in Ireland..
cheers
Keep an eye on @arsenal_tickets on Twitter
will do thanks, do they release tickets there to the general public and roughly how long before the game do they put them for sale? just wondering as flights are shit cheap with ryanair atm 🙂
no need to answer the above… i just visited @arsenal_tickets,, cheers
Good luck Poldi, not sure why you were bought if the manager had no intention of playing you. Wish the lad nothing but the best, in a age where footballers have a horrible name, it was always a pleasure to see this lad playing with a smile on his face.
#ahaafcrip
🙁
For people asking what does a loan have any effect on us
its takes off his 100k wages
It*
you are right ti takes his 100k wages off, but poldi this season played the last 5-10 minutes in the league several time, which didn’t have any effect, so if wenger was not counting on him why he didn’t sell him in the sumer for 10mil and release his high wages, now he will go on loan and wenger will sell him in the summer for half the price something like 4-5mil because he will be in his final year of the contract.
This…I have no idea why anyone thumbs down such a comment.
Why were Podolski and Campbell not sold immediately after the World Cup when their profiles were highest? That would have made the most sense as I can’t see either selling for more in the future. They have both done nothing but languish on the bench.
Sooo… new signings or cheaper tickets?
I have a lot of time Poldi, to the point where I use his hashtag regularly, but he doesn’t seem to offer convincing Premier League performances, and he was a phantom in the FA Cup final.
I want him to stay because of his Champion’s League form, but if he wants took then that’s that. I just feel like we may regret this.
Good for him. It’s a good move for his career.
I really believe we have a replacement identified and have taken concrete steps to set that particular deal in motion on the back of Poldi’s move.
(This is the part where the whole cast spontaneously starts laughing with me and someone comes over to ruffle my hair, 90s sitcom style)
Loan is not useful to us, but the fact is that Wenger has underplayed Podolski to that extent that we are being forced to send him on tells the story.
I don’t blame him. Class player, not a starter probably but if you cant get a game with Giroud, ramsey, ozil, walcott, arteta, wilshere, ox injured, and Yaya Sanogo is preferred over you, then you should get the fuck off message and move on.
Will miss him like crazy and hate Wenger treating him & Rosicky like crap.
Meh, we have more pressing matters to deal with.
Yeah, the only real positive here is that if it gets sorted now they can’t use it as an excuse all window for doing nothing else.
If he’s going to leave he needs to leave now so we can spend our time doing more important stuff. I like Poldi but the lack of a midfield and defense is a much bigger concern than him.
Well there must be something going on in the background between Wenger and Podolski cause even after his good performance against Gala he remained unused. Loan with a view to buy more than likely. Hopefully the reason is to free up some wages for a new signing. Best of luck wherever you end up Lu-Lu-Lukas.
We lose his wages and if he plays there, it will add to a higher cash value instead of selling him from the bench.
I can’t believe that Wenger lost his marbles. The fact is, there is only so much we see as fans. We will only ever know the behind the scenes if Arsene ever releases a tell all, which he probably won’t.
I know Frimpong is not the best reference in world but when he left his first twit was: What did Podolski do to never get in the team ? I suspect players too, even with behind the scene knowledge, do not understand the manager on this.
Great guy and sad to see him go. Should have been used more or if he wasn’t going to be sold in the summer.
More dillydallying in the transfer market, who else but quagmire! Sorry arsene
This benefits no one except Podolski. Don’t get get me wrong, I like him as a player and that cannon of a left foot but we’re just weakening a squad for little financial gain. What’s the point?
In the wonky world of Wenger logic, we have Walcott back. Therefore, he is like a new signing.
Much as we might love and respect wenger, we must accept that he has mismanaged podolski.
He might have been a limited player but with over 100 German caps and a World Cup winner, he could have been handled better.
For me, this speaks more about Arsene than te player. I am saddened that it turned out this way. This player was super genuinely happy to have joined arsenal but his delusionment was wholly created by the manager.
You have to wonder if other top players are looking at this and wonder about the clubs ambition.
Great finisher, but during the games he played he tended to go missing too often, I can understand why he is being shipped out.
The squad needs rebalancing, we need to get a top quality defensive player in, so letting a Forward go makes sense.
Maybe it’s time to make a tough decision of Diaby and pay up the rest of his contract to make room in the squad to bring in a defensive midfielder as well. Just a thought.
Pod Casted out.
I am sad.
this coyld possible be a blessing.in disguise wenger could be loaning poldi out as a “show me you’re good enough” message to him. Clearly wenger sees something in him if he doesnt want to sell polidi, he just might not be showing it at the moment. That’s what I think wenger is thinking and what is going on with this loan because judging by the players who have left us previously (rvp nasri etc) it shows wenger isnt afraid to let players go even if it was to repay the stadium. That’s my opinion anyway I’m not a full expert… Read more »
NOOOOOOOOOO
Nonsensical
#Goodbye #Poldi #bro #BestWishes #aha
I liked him . He deserves to play though , and Wenger has his favourites , so this was bound to happen. Podolski doesn’t fit into the system that Wenger insists on playing.
I’d love for us to have played a 4-4-2 with pod up front ,
But that never happened .
Good luck poldi
Olive branch to Juve to spark Pogba transfer talks?
2015 – a year of dreaming.
Yeah, we are sending Poldi to inter to be an olive branch to Juve.
I hope my sarcasm detector failed because the alternative is rather more disturbing.
It failed. #Aha
If Southampton defeat was self-inflicted in AW words, then Arsenal FC decline over last 10 years is self -inflicted by AW.
It is sad to see such a player leaving, when we played against Southampton without striker and CHARM Chambers in midfield.
This is equal to strengthening Chelsea with Fabregas, West Ham with song, loaning out Jenkinson and not replacing Vermaelen….
RVP to Manure? Song originally to Barca? Nasri and Clichy to Citeh? Cesc originally to Barca? Face facts, we’re a selling club and always will be under Lord Wenger’s reign. Imagine if a £60m bid came in for Alexis – would we not sell him? It’s the Arsenal way. And to think, we were in the CL final not too long ago and could have won should super Jens not have imagined he was an outfield player.
Makes sense. 1) He is older and in last season in contract. This is the shop window for him. 2) We are (for whatever reason) not playing him. He needs to make something of the remaining years of his career. 3) We should have a bunch of players available in his lieu. Campbell will fancy his chances (bear in mind Joel, Poldy has remained on the bench for most of the season). But Walcott is also coming back in, Gnabry, Welbeck. Provided we spend on a quality CBack (and possibly in midfield if Arteta’s return is complicated), we should be… Read more »
Has Campbell ever scored for us? Why did we buy Poldi then not play him. Who better to come off the bench and give you a goal, sometimes out of nowhere…
Great player. I would love to see how he fits in inter and not in arsenal.He could not fit into the Wenger’s game because we are sort of same style every other match no matter what team we play. For a player of his quality, sitting on bench is a waste. Wish him the best.
I haven’t watched them much the last season or two, but if Inter’s defense and midfield are more conservative than our constantly overlapped fullbacks it will be a better fit for Poldi.
I’ve said this in numerous, but what the hell is going on at Arsenal?! Fair enough he doesn’t move around much but look at his shots to goals ratio – speaks for itself. Why is Diaby still at our club? Why isn’t Rosicky being played more? How many of our favoured starting 11 are or have been out injured every few weeks for the past couple of seasons? What you hell has happened to Gnabry?! Something is massively wrong.
Poor decision from Wenger. Letting players go only weakens the team. Poldoski has end product, the best finisher at the club, utilise him in a way that benefits the team most.
I wish him all the best. Was always an odd Wenger signing… Plays in that weird inside left channel… Not anything to add defensively… But what a left foot! He’ll rip that league a new one!
Hurts to see him holding that Inter scarf. Will miss his character and obviously his rocket left foot. Really hoping for a goodbye message to the fans. He might not have been Wenger’s favourite but the majority of the fans loved him. Good luck at Inter my friend. AHA!
this is mental, we are letting someone leave when we are behind the spuds in the league. Poldi is very good and not much more than that but so is every other player on our team atm, we really need to make a statement in this window and this is not the way to do it, What on earth is Wenger doing, the man is a complete enigma. We need to strengthen and he lets someone go on LOAN, if he doesnt fit in the team sell him and get some money while we can, I have the feeling we… Read more »
Rumors of Arsenal players going out are always true. Rumors of players coming to Arsenal are almost always false. Same sh*t every window.
You gotta give the old man some time to get his head around of what to do.
This. Succinct and to the point. Same thing every year, and people still wanna give him more time..
I think Poldi ate Arsene’s replacement dog for the one Park ate a couple of years ago!
Its amazing how fast Arsenal sell players and how slow Arsenal buy players. We can’t win when we prioritize business over winning.
Wenger f_cking out!