Podolski: I won't do a Walcott

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski insists he is not about to join the queue of players knocking on manager Arsene Wenger's door to demand a central striking role. After Theo Walcott's long running campaign to be played as a frontman in Wenger's line-up ended successfully, the suspicion was that Podolski was next in line to put pressure on the Arsenal boss to play him in a more direct role. But the Germany international, who won rave reviews for his display in Wednesday night's 5-1 rout over West Ham from the left side of midfield, claims he is content to play as a makeshift winger, even though he admits the role reduces his scoring chances. "I think I can shoot more and get more goals when I play No. 10 or as a striker, but with the style of the game at Arsenal I do it well on the left side and I am happy to play there," Podolski told the Arsenal website. "I've scored seven goals now and have nine assists. It's an okay start for me. I have played on the left for Koln sometimes and the national team, so this is not something special. "What is more important is that we are in the Champions League at the end of the season. There is still enough time for us to get back into the top four." Rumours had suggested that Podolski was growing tired of Wenger's persistence to substitute him mid-way through the second half of games in recent weeks, although the experienced forward has moved to quash such theories. "You have to ask the boss why he takes me off in matches, but when you are a footballer, you will not always play 90 minutes," Podolski said. "Sometimes you are not happy, but this is not important for me. I fight for Arsenal and we have a lot of great players on the bench and in the squad. "The coaches don't change the full-back or centre-back; you change always the positions in the front who create something. You have great players and for me it is not a problem when I am substituted. "I think it is harder to play every game in England. You have tough games and you see in Germany that there is only one team at the front and that is Bayern Munich. "The German league quality is very good now, but I think the Premier League is a little bit better."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

top European teams to fight it out to sign John Stone

Image
John Stones will be at centre of a £50m transfer scramble in the summer, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Chelsea all keen to sign him. Everton turned down the opportunity to sell their highly-rated centre half last summer, rejecting a £38million bid from Chelsea. But the interest in Stones has intensified since then, with Rafa Benitez having asked Real Madrid to sign him when he was manager at the club. Though Benitez has since been sacked, Real Madrid have maintained their interest and plan to move in the summer if an appeal against their FIFA transfer ban means that their embargo on signings is lifted. But Barcelona are now also monitoring Stones, though may baulk at the £50m price and Manchester City, who are planning for Pep Guardiola’s reign at the club, also want to sign the player and have already demonstrated their willingness to pay huge sums for top English talent. City have struggled in central defence with Vincent Kompany often injured w...
Read more

MANCHESTER UNITED have entered the race to sign CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa

Image
The Nigeria international has this month been linked with Premier League rivals Leicester, who are thought to have had rejected their £15.1million opening bid. CSKA are reportedly holding out for at least £18.9m for the pacey striker, who has 10 goals to his name this term. The Foxes are expected to up their bid before the January window expires, but now face competition from United for the 23-year-old's services. The Red Devils have scored the least amount of goals out of the top eight teams in the Premier League this season and Louis van Gaal is desperate to add more fire power to his front line. While Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has made no secret of his desire to sign a striker to boost his side's title bid after loaning out Andrej Kramaric to Fiorentina. The Italian said: "It's important to have two players for every position. Our strength is to play with high intensity. ‘’ It's not possible to play with that intensity for all the season. ...
Read more

Chelsea turn attention to Didier Deschamps

Image
Didier Deschamps has emerged as a shock contender to be the next   Chelsea manager. The current France coach will lead the host nation into this summer’s Euros but his contract expires after the tournament. Blues owner   Roman Abramovich   is determined to appoint a new boss who can offer a long-term strategy. The Russian billionaire has been forced to bring in short-term replacements like Guus Hiddink, Rafa Benitez and Avram Grant in recent seasons. Abramovich wants no more quick-fix solutions and is consulting his trusted advisor Marina Granovskaia and technical director Michael Emenalo to find the right man. Deschamps, 47, is under consideration and has been joined on the short-list by Mark Hughes. Deschamps, who speaks good English, played for Chelsea for one season up to 2000. He had an illustrious playing career as part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. But it is his impact as a coach that makes him more attractive. ...
Read more