Lukas Podolski officially completed a move away from Arsenal on Saturday, joining Inter Milan on a loan deal until the end of the season, as reported by Inter Milan's Twitter feed, which shared photos of the winger landing at Milan's airport:
The 29-year-old hardly featured for the Gunners in the first half of the 2014-15 season, scoring three goals in 13 total appearances but making just two starts across all competitions, according to WhoScored.com.
Podolski grew increasingly frustrated at his limited role within the club, culminating in an incident on New Year's Eve, where he reportedly left Arsenal's training ground citing a groin injury and didn't travel to Southampton with his teammates, per the Daily Mirror's John Cross.
The German had been linked with a move to Inter throughout December, with manager Roberto Mancini openly declaring his desire to bring Podolski into the club. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger commented on Inter's reported interest in a press conference, calling it "a joke:"
The Nerazzurri came to an agreement with Arsenal in the following days, however, and on Friday, the ever-reliable Gianluca Di Marzio broke the news of Podolski's imminent move to Serie A via Twitter:
Sky Sports confirmed they were hearing the same chatter:
Podolski joined Arsenal in 2012 and quickly became a fan-favourite for his high work rate and timely goals, but from the very start, he was forced to play in a variety of roles and positions on the pitch, with very little consistency.
He was a regular starter in his first season as a Gunner but soon became a bit-part player, and while he still scored a handful of important goals for the club, his limitations started to surface. He wasn't excellent at holding onto the ball, and simply lacked the physicality to play as a lone central striker.
ESPN FC's James Dall perhaps summarised his time at the club best—while fans are sad to see him go and feel like he never received a fair chance, they also realise he was a limited player from the start:
Inter need an injection of attacking talent next to Mauro Icardi and have elected to field teams with two or even three attackers all season, so Podolski will undoubtedly see more playing minutes in the Italian fashion capital.
His departure leaves the Gunners with limited depth in the attacking department, so fans can either expect the arrival of a new forward or more minutes for youngster and fan-favourite Joel Campbell.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1yjqHTx
via IFTTT January 03, 2015 at 04:15AM
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