Bloody hope so. It would be unusual to start moving for a replacement for RVP before he has discussed his future with the club so I'm inclined to believe Poldi, if signed, ill be a reinforcement not a replacement.
At last we're getting a quality second striker in the squad. This should give us more flexibility with the front three. RVP can now be given a more free role to move around the central/left/deep positions if necessary. RVP is more than just a striker, he is also technically very good with very good vision, ball control and passing ability. With a player like Podolsky, we would have a player that can play centrally offering us more opinions up front. Add OXO, Walcott, Miyaichi and Campbell then we have some excitment right there!
I think it's a clever move, AW is buying a ready made top quality player to partner RVP, it sends out a message of intent, and with Walcott, Oxo, Gervinho and Campbell there is plenty of additional attacking talent. We can't be as unlucky with injuries again next year, it'd be nice to think we can actually select a full back to play full back every now and then and how often have we had the 'spine' of TV, Jack and RVP ?
I think we'll have enough attacking talent to take us forward next year. The only position we need filling is a top creative midfielder type like Goetze or something then i think we're good to go as the spine seems to be there....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17295576 Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Germany striker Lukas Podolski from Cologne, BBC Sport understands. Reports suggest the Gunners will pay £10.9m for the 26-year-old on a four-year contract worth £100,000 a week.
Excellent indeed, this shows our intent and hopefully it will persuade RVP to sign a new deal soon. But whats better is that we've got it out the way and not gone to the wire like previous seasons. Do i sense a change in the air at Arsenal?
Surprised the announcement came now, he still has to finish the season with Cologne and this must make things difficult....
Laz - the spine has been there for years, the three of them have just never been fit at the same time !!!
the guy has nearly 100 international caps for germany and over 40 goals ... thats good enough for me, the germans like work rate as well as skill so we may get industry as well as goal threat. ok he failed at Bayern but maybe he is older & more settled now and has been scoring goals at a good rate these past two years ... 2009 was not great for him but for me just seeing "arsenal looking at a 26 yr old" is bliss .... we need a few more of these and less of the 17yr old wunderkids. this season has showed rvp needs to play all the time for us to do well, if no one else will step up to the goals scored column then buy some one in who will. i expect (or do i hope) to see massive pre and post euro movement from arsenal ... lots of loanees to offload ... the bone idol russian, denilson and bentner and vela are still officially arsenal players, plus diaby, chamack, squill, park and sundry others to offload most of which won't be involved in the euros but we may wait until after the euros to see who we get. if we finish top four then our bargining power is increased of course, if we don't then signing a few mature players now will help create the feeling were doing things differently now ..... that plus the £5m !!! may keep rvp happy to stay. yes we need a creative midfielder but goetze is 19yrs old with about 50 club games behind him ... take into account 2 yrs to settle to prem league and the fact wilshire is also the same age etc then what have we improved with getting anothrer 19yr old "will be better next year" player at the club ... we must have 10 of them already .. im not saying this guy can't play or hazard at 20 can't play, just they will be kids next to kids which is effectively the same old same old for us. snijeder or kaka fit the bill we need "now" but will cost a bomb but thats life .. we need to derisk the settling in period and increase effective performance to the here and now, not after some elongated bedding in period of waiting for our new signings balls to drop. if wenger does move on this volume or poor quality of player and buys more mature players I may call off my wenger out witch hunt for a while as he will be admitting through his actions (if not verbally) that the squads he has built these past 3 or 4 years have not been in his own words "my strongest ever arsenal squad" but actually a load of weak bodied tosh who have failed, actions speak louder then words and getting podolski may be the call to action needed by the club to enter a new way of doing things
Better to have it out in the open that a long drawn out battle. They have the money to now get a replacement and we get a player we can work with pre-season. Everyones a winner
True, but he has to turn up for work every day for the next couple of months and deal with the feeling the fans may have, I don't see an upside for the player or Cologne if I'm honest. Then again, he doesn't strike me as a player with limited confidence, he's likely to be big enough to deal with it....
I assume Arsenal can pull out of the deal at any time up until the transfer window opening, otherwise it makes little sense to sign him so early. He could have a broken leg by the time he signs and you've wasted £11mill on a crock. Good signing though, I think he'll fit in well to the English game.
of course he could go to the euros bag a few goals and see his stock soar ..... with us knowing he is coming to us not the next highest bidder who buy off the back of tournament success .... a good move to get him and shows he wants to play for us even if were not gauranteed champs league football nxt yr ... there will be others out there who wenger may want but will wait until they see where we finish. his big move in 06 to bayern (about 10million euros) failed, he was 20yrs old then .... we may have the more mature version on our books.
Very good signing for you guys. Now you just need to hang on to RVP and sign some decent defenders and I think you'll be sorted.
Wenger will get the best of him. Top class signing. He can score goals but he will also add a certain steel to our side. He's aggressive and hates to loose.
"Money is not the most important thing for me," he told German newspaper Sport-Bild. "What is crucial is the development of my game." - Lukas Podolski. I'm liking the guy already!
