When Lukas Podolski arrived to Arsenal from FC Köln in 2012 there were high hopes surrounding the German international.  Following the sale of Robin van Persie in August of 2012 to rivals Manchester United for a fee of around £25 million, Podolski was seen as the heir apparent to the Arsenal front line.  Gunner manager Arsene Wenger recruited the one-time German superstar to man his attack alongside a combination of Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Gervinho.

Although Podolski showed promise in his freshman season at the Emirates (his first season playing professional soccer outside of his home country), scoring 16 total goals and providing 12 assists while mostly featuring on the left side of the wing, the German’s playing time went down drastically over the last year and a half and has been subsequently loaned out to Inter Milan.

While Podolski has always been a fan favorite during his time in north London, there was a definite falling out between player and manager at Arsenal.  Following his Premier League departure in January, Podolski stated that, “he (Wenger) said nothing to me.  He did not call me or say goodbye.  I don’t need flowers or a kiss from him, but it is about respect, about saying goodbye.  For me respect is important.  Maybe he had other problems with me.”

The Arsenal manager was quick to dispel the notion that he disrespected the forward. Wenger said, “I had many conversations with him, he had my agreement to go on loan.  I deny that completely but I knew he did not get enough opportunities.  We have many players, when a player of his quality doesn’t get enough games you can understand he is frustrated.”

Wenger went on to finish, ”At some stage too many players is detrimental to the confidence.  You need the right numbers.  It had nothing to do with his quality.  It is just a loan without an option to buy – that means he is back at the end of the season.”

With Podolski given a bit of a fresh start at Inter Milan, the German has yet to settle in and look comfortable with I Nerazzurri.  In nine total matches (eight starts) so far in Milan, Podolski has yet to score a goal.  The German has also recently come under fire for a corner kick dubbed “the worst corner kick in history“.  Podolski struck the corner post along with the ball during the set piece against Fiorentina last Sunday.

There has never been a question of Podolski’s finishing abilities, or his hammer of a left foot, however, many have questioned the German’s off the ball movement and work rate.

Nonetheless, there is a glaring difference when it comes to goal output during his spells at four different clubs over his career.  While playing with his boyhood club Köln, Podolski scored a goal every 2.10 matches.  Once he moved on to powerhouse Bayern Munich in 2006, the German only managed to hit the back of the net once every 4.08 games.  During his time with Arsenal, Podolski’s conversion rate was much better than his three seasons with Bayern (a goal every 2.65 games), but still could not match his goal rate with Köln.

Despite the fact that Podolski is currently struggling with Inter Milan, Arsenal fans would most likely not be opposed to Podolski returning to the north London side, however, his starting days with the Gunners may be over.  If the German forward would not accept a secondary role with Arsenal, then perhaps a move back to Germany with Köln would be just what his career needs.