If you missed it last night, ex-Gunner Lukas Podolski called time on his glittering international career by scoring the winner for Germany against England in a 1-0 win in Dortmund.
The 31-year-old playing his final ever game for Die Mannschaft, wellied it top bins past Joe Hart from 30-yards (his 49th goal in 130 games his country) before leaving the field to a standing ovation while the music from Gladiator played at full blast. Possibly the most Poldi thing ever.
Podolski scores an absolute screamer in his 130th and final international game for Germany pic.twitter.com/FbzHGCU92l
— Terje (@TerjeAFCx) March 22, 2017
After the game, the striker, who spent three years at Arsenal, was asked about the current goings on at the Emirates and whether or not it was time for Arsene Wenger to stand down.
“I follow nearly every match – when not live then on social media – and I don’t know what has happened,” Podolski told Sky Sports News HQ.
“Arsene Wenger is a good guy and a good coach. He built this club from nothing to now. It will be interesting what happens in the next few months.”
He added: “I don’t know who the guy is that can replace him. He is Arsenal.”
Given that Podolski and Wenger didn’t always see eye-to-eye during his time at Arsenal it’s telling that the Frenchman still commands considerable respect from his former charge.
“He built this club from nothing to now. It will be interesting what happens in the next few months. I don’t know who the guy is that can replace him. He is Arsenal.”
fair. we were a ryman league side before wenger after all.
Yeah that comment grated a bit with me. Maybe that’s part of the problem, maybe players at the club now don’t understand arsenal’s history pre wenger. In the days of Adams it would be made sure that players knew about the history of the arsenal and what this club means and I think there was an element of passion and desire born from that.
George Graham to his first signing, Perry Groves: “Remember who you are and who you play for.” Graham also only ever used the term “The Arsenal”
The George Graham that went to Spurs?
So just because he managed a rival (after he was sacked for non footballing reasons) means he was wrong? I bet you were’nt around in his days.
Except it made the ‘who you are and who you play for’ comment redundant.
The Spurs.;)
santori, don’t disrespect George Graham. You just make yourself look silly.
wtf? you shamelessly trash Arsene Wenger, infinetely better and more succesfull than Graham, a manager who put us on a different level and right next to elite football clubs and you have the audacity to tell someone else to not disrespect your ‘hero’ who fucked off to spurs when he got caugth taking money under the table? this unhistorical and shameless revisionism has got to stop. we were there too you know…. if you want a return to tuesday clubs and cokeheads mersons dropping out for half a year then keep it to yourself. wenger civilised arsenal whether you like… Read more »
all the talk about nobody can replace arsene has shifted the perspective . we have to eventually replace him very soon whether we like it or not . we just have to find the right man . even if we made a wrong appointment or struggle for a year or two , with arsenals vast resources we will bounce bacl very soon to fight for the league or even better to win the league . it is risky, but it is that or risk being stale .
The problem is that everyone at the club has forgotten who they are, what they are and who the fuck they represent!
Pathetic, its another person cultivating the myth of Wenger. Its like Chapman, Bertie Mee, George Graham never existed.
If that is his level of knowledge of the club then who care what an old German footballer thinks.
Exactly. I dont care if people were not old enough to remember them by sight but. Its so sad people take time to rant and moan all day how Wenger founded Arsenal and never even a minute of their life to read a page of their favorite clubs history. To me after couple of years I realized being a fan is a great commitment. George Graham was in charge when I started watching Arsenal and it amazes me when people think Arsenal was nothing before Wenger. Even statically he doesnt manage to best the one he replaced. Wenger has 3… Read more »
I’ll admit I’m an Arsenal fan and one of the biggest reasons is AW. I’m not from London or Europe but US. Only reason why I’m a fan of Arsenal is the consistency It seemed that Arsenal had along with the fact I hated ManU. I think you can understand that with the globalization of the league Arsenal brand grew with it and thats how myself and others not from London became fans of Arsenal. Not that we don’t know their is long storied history before AW. He did a great job during this era where the Prem expanded globally… Read more »
George Graham? Boring football, erratic finishing in the league, a couple of small secondary cups in Europe? Went to The Spurs?
History lesson?
Like we are playing so beautifully now huh? At least Graham didnt go 13 seasons with no major titles at a club amoung the financial powers in football. He along with David brought us back to our feet financially in their final years. And that boring team was the back bone of Wengers league title winning squad. Wenger after losing the last player of that squad (Vieira) have won exactly zero titles. Graham was a leader who made leaders of his players. You should give him respect even if you are not old enough to have actually watched his team… Read more »
I agree with what you’re saying Gooner of Oz but you do realise that Wenger signed Vieira right?
I’d take a season or two of Georgie’s Gooners right now over the shit we’re seeing.
How about George Graham – won multiple trophies playing for Arsenal, won multiple trophies managing Arsenal.
Absolute Rubbish by uninformed fans.
1991 we won the league by smashing teams with lovely football and with losing ONE game all season were just shy of the Invincibles.
I’ve given up on you Wenger In lot a long time ago, you are clueless and stick to your narrative out of delusion and arrogance.
Remind you of anyone?
Some guy says something nice about his former boss. Hell breaks lose.
Andre, spot on mate.
In Ireland divorce process take an average of 5 years (I thought that’s crazy long time). Arsenal and Arsene’s “separation/divorce” 7+ (ongoing). He is a good man, but Arsenal needs a new manager.
arsenal keeps buying arsene flowers and arsene keeps putting food on the table.
the extended family are hounding for the divorce
I really don’t like the divorce/unhappy marriage analogy being banded about by fans and the press. The fans didn’t choose or Arsene or hand him a contract, the board did, in fact most fans wanted Johan Cruyff and didn’t have clue who Wenger was in ’96. The ‘marriage’ is between Arsene and the club, and given the club’s current objectives under Krone’s ownership of being a profitable business, they are more than happy with the ‘marriage’ and Arsene is still in love with the club. The more appropriate family analogy might be sending your granddad off to an old folks… Read more »
Great strike from Poldi!!
We’re all expendable. Arsenal will find a replacement; they’ll have to.
I miss this guy, never understood why we let him go. Sure he didnt offered much defensive work rate but damn he can score. And those screamers he did oh boy
He couldn’t make space for himself enough to get a shot off most days. Wasn’t fast enough to get past the defenders. He needed to be given space on the ball to score and with his reputation most PL teams wouldn’t make that mistake. Now this goal was an absolute belter, but even poldi can’t do that 10 times a season.
Spot on. Lovely bloke – limited footballer.
He built the club from nothing. No, no he didn’t, Lukas.
All the same, really pleased for him last night. A cracking goal and all in all a great player for Germany who has won things with the national side. He’s played with some absolute legends of the game and has had one hell of a career. Now he’s off to play for Vissel Kobe apparently. All the best to him!
Why would people down vote this? How can an arsenal fan truly believe arsenal were nothing before Wenger???
Left foot like Thor’s hammer. Poldi you’ll forever remain class. Your use of social media though
The only thing for me is that he was the right man during the global media explosion of the game and the league. Of course I want more trophies but thats another story. To me he’s done a great job even though finishing top 4 shouldn’t be the number 1 goal but I’d hate to be what Liverpool became over the last 20 years. They still haven’t recovered from the last 20 years of mismanagement.
Yeah I always feel sad that it didn’t work out for him exactly. His strike rate for The Arsenal is still pretty good though.
“Arsene Wenger is a good guy and a good coach. He built this club from nothing to now…He is Arsenal.”
Sorry Podolski what are you even on about. Arsenal is far bigger than Wenger. Its Arsenal FC not Arsene FC. Remember that always.
Arsenal has been around and won trophies since long before Wenger was even born.
This comment is 100% factually accurate but nevertheless has attracted a large number of downvotes. I suspect this the reason for this is not that they disagree with the comment but because they dislike the commenter.
As Blogs reminded us yesterday – please play the ball not the man.
What now people can’t have an opinion differing from yours Spinner? …Do I also have to dislike you to downvote your comment I don’t agree with? You are making it too easy.
Graham won a league each 4 full seasons. Wenger have won one for each 7 seasons. Graham won Europian league as well as supercup in his years when at first we were not strong financially. Graham and Dien made the backbone of a team with some superplayer strikers in their last years which Wenger won almost all he won with us in few years after the same squad and not the many years after and all the money and squad he built on himself. I say even if you consider our last two managers its debatable who is the better… Read more »
George Graham :
Boring football.
Erratic finishing.
Small chump change wins in lesser European competitions.
Traitor.
No. Wenger built the club up financially and rebranded our football.
We would not have got the loan to build the club up with the stadium without. The fact that we so consistently qualified for CL plus the early title wins provided the platform to do so.
Continued qualification despite financial restrictions allowed us to get through buildling our own stadium.
Seriously.;)
Youre Si aren’t you? Making up facts for your Wenger. Believe it or not there are many Arsenal supporters around too.
I’m not saying I want to go back to the Graham days but get your facts right Santori. He won 2 league titles and brought the club a lot of success.
Nobody wanted him. And credit for signing him surely goes to Bruce Rioch?
Prior 8 seasons to AW’s arrival, we’d won 2 league titles, FA cup League Cup, European Cup Winners Cup (and runners up the following year). Do your research, Pod!
We didn’t build a stadium which allows us to be relatively self sustaining and challenge in the market for top drawer names. We were financially as poor as anyone when Wenger took over. We were never a European side challenging in the top end competition. Those wins were minor European side shows. And we played a boring brand of football. The club’s following exploded following Wenger’s rebranding of the game plus the early wins True he flattered to deceive in recent 5 seasons but the prior 6 or 7 were frustrating bc of Stadium build and financial restrictions. If you… Read more »
Why are banging on about your stadium move so much?
At Highbury we won league titles, at the Emirates we don’t even get close.
If we didn’t move to the stadium, we’d be celebrating the 40 point mark every season, with the other clubs getting richer over this period.
Arsenal has been a “Bank of England” club for around a century now, always one of the big money clubs. We brought Bergkamp in when Rioch was in charge, so still able to attract top players. To suggest we were a poor club is totally wrong. Graham era ended up really boring I agree but then most football had been boring both here and abroad for years. Even the seventies with every team having a clogger was not pretty. More Euro success may have been possible were it not for Scousers (and English hooligans in general) getting all clubs banned… Read more »
I’m not saying this for Wenger’s sake- but Who actually believed the Board for a moment when they claimed Wenger could spend away?
Not me.
exactly lets not re-write history….arsenal was hardly a real madrid type club before wenger.
as for big depends…
big like ajax benfica madrid ac milan juve bayern etc etc?
certainly not…..
We had Podolski in his absolute prime years. I can’t help feeling Arsene didn’t get the best out of him.
The reason your bread had mold on it was also because …Wenger.
This club was far from nothing before Arsene Wenger came. That’s a very harsh thing to say. It was, and still is, the third successful football club in England. If anything, it’s pretty much the same, just has a nicer stadium.
to be fair to Poldi, he was only 11 when Wenger took over! I was happy that the script went his way last night. Apparently the scum who sang 10 german bombers throughout also booed him. Wenger wants to go out on a high (well, inasmuch as he wants to go out at all) which he himself is making less and less possible. This is what happens when a manager has too much power and no-one on the Board is a football person, or has Kroenke’s ear. Gazidis is as close as we get to a Board member who knows… Read more »
Kronke doesn’t need anyone to tell him what’s good for the club cause he’s solely interested in his investment. What management wants post Wenger is someone who can manage effectively without breaking the bank. What I’m are hoping for is that the next manager is a master tactician
and whinier fans…
*applause*
Unbelievable that people think Arsenal were nothing before Wenger. I’m rather fond of those George Graham years to say the least.
“I don’t know who the guy is that can replace him.” Join the Board, Poldi; you’ll fit right in.
/fantastic goal, by the way
What a goal from poldi!
I miss Podolski
I know Wenger has tried to replace him with Lucas Perezski but surely we miss the German’s ‘sense of humour’.
I mean those were dark dark days following the departure of RVP etc.
I’m not privy to the going ons in the dressing room but I wager a bet that Poldy helped to lift the mood and get us through tough times during the difficult rebuilding phase. He’s value is so much more beyond the pitch albeit of course, I would have loved to had seen him more on the pitch.
I fucking love Podolski.
As for replacements, I’m not to sure we should gamble on an Unai Emery or Tuschel. Remember AVB? God’s gift to football, tactical genius? Young and brilliant unlike old dinosaur Wenger? Did he finish above Wenger in the league? How about Roberto Martinez? Not too long ago, he was on every pundits’ lips for some inextricable reason. Progressive manager, tactically better than Wenger, part time pundit. Where he? Or how about Brendan Rodgers? The annointed one to bring the glory days back to Liverpool. They’ve been a team in transition for over a Quarter of a century without the title.… Read more »
That’s a long post.
Most people won’t bother reading it. Too long. Yawn!
Anything written by a third grade is beyond your comprehension.
Great clubs bring people together. One of the best things about being a fan IMHO. Then, when the club’s performance wobbles you realise that the bunch of people you sang with, weeped with, aren’t really nice people at all. In fact they are boorish, prone to bullying and really passive aggressive.
Thats the problem with people like you. Perhaps you should try reading things properly and you will learn something.
spot-on post again Santori. A lone voice of reason amongst all the wailing and gnashing of teeth!
Podolski is merely speaking a truth from his perspective; in the wider world of football outside of the UK, Wenger helped to build Arsenal an empire with global reach and appeal. He also managed an unbeaten season, which obviously made quite a name for Arsenal in the world of sport. Wenger also rode the massive broadcasting wave that has taken the Premier League to unprecedented heights and financial power over the course of his tenure, and that’s not his accolade to claim or receive. That said, post-WWII, Arsenal achieved 5 league titles over a span of 50 years; Arsenal under… Read more »
Has any other club put this stupid scenario forward, there was no United before Fergie, No Liverpool before Klopp etc . Just this pathetic old Multi millionaire Frenchman who has no other interests in life. And some people buy it
wtf has klopp done at liverpool to consider him better than wenger? seriously….
you are a total wanker. firstly the club didn’t put this forward, podolski did. secondly, how in any way is arsene wenger pathetic? hes got more balls than all of us
blogs the new look is good but my comments disappear. and one suggestion, instead of guest put a “fan” near names so people dont forget we are all fans. no matter the difference in opinions or ambitions.
I like it
Instead of ‘fan’ can I respectfully suggest ‘Twat’. For me at least.
‘From nothing’, how dare he? Eddie McGoldrick must be spinning in his grave.