Sam Oliver
What on Earth was I thinking? I mean, I was very, very sceptical of this signing, and at the time, I thought I had good reason. His record when he went to Bayern Munich was very poor, and despite his legendary status at Koln, his goal scoring performances there were good, but not anything special. As Podolski put pen to paper for the Gunners, I was very doubting of him. From what I’d seen from his time at Bayern and for Germany at the Euros, he wouldn’t be a great acquisition for us; I then, very foolishly, compared him to Julio Baptista, the blundering Brazilian whose first touch occasionally got mistaken as a fifty yard through ball. Both with plenty international experience, both big and bullish (which, I associated with being slow; True about Baptista, not about Podolski.) I also had my reservations on Podolski’s first touch which is such a crucial asset in the Premier League.
His performance against Sunderland didn’t bring much promise either, but he was also out of position at centre-forward; he is a really a left sided striker, who has the potential to form a fantastic partnership with Kieran Gibbs down the left hand side (How Gibbs wasn’t picked for the recent England squad is beyond me, criminally under rated by everyone in the England set-up. Stuart Pearce didn’t even pick him for the Olympics squad for Christ’s sake! Gibbs will be among the World’s best left backs in a few years. You heard it here first.)
I do think Gibbs and Podolski already have a very good understanding after only playing a few games together, and this bond will only get stronger as they play together more. Even against the German’s old club Koln in pre-season, Gibbs and Podolski combined brilliantly to set up Podolski’s second. Something special is happening down Arsenal’s left flank, and I can’t wait to watch these two dominate teams on their left wing this season.
Another thing I like about our German is his work rate, which ties in with how he and Gibbs have seen their partnership blossom. Unlike most wingers, Podolski seems more than happy to work very hard to help out defensively, and the same can be said about Gibbs going forward; they both work ridiculously hard for each other, which will only bring more successes for us through the years. I really hope both of them stay at the club for a while so we can see these two working together in full swing.
But of course, the most impressive part of Podolski’s Arsenal career so far, is how he’s taken his goals. The first against Liverpool, you would have expected him to score with the position he got himself into, but his run was superb; a great ball into the pint sized Spaniard Cazorla, who drove forward excellently (Watch Giroud’s movement too, completely takes Agger out the game), and fed it into Poldi to tuck it past Reina. Of course, I didn’t tell you about the fact that Podolski ran about fifty yards off the ball to get into that position, breezing past a surprised (and crap) Glen Johnson in the process. Brilliant team goal all made from Podolski originally being was back defending, to when he fed Cazorla and sprinted half the length of the pitch to score. That, is exactly the type of player we haven’t had in a while. You can’t say much about the free-kick against Sunderland, other then, WOW. Top free-kick, bending into Kelvin Davis, who still had no chance of stopping it; His enthusiastic celebration led to a whole bunch of internet geeks making those Memes of him celebrating, which began funny but then as they ran out of ideas and became not as funny, grew a little tiresome. And his third goal, which I’ve only seen one replay of, but it was a great team move, and again both Podolski and Giroud’s movement in offensive positions, was absolutely fantastic.
So, after my rather critical view of this signing, I am delighted to announce that I was completely wrong, and Podolski is indeed a very complete left forward. I can’t wait to see him in action against Citeh on Sunday; I think he’ll give Zabaleta a very tough time at the Etihad. (And by the way, just how good is Santi Cazorla? He literally has everything; pace, skill, perfect passing and a great shot. And as for Giroud, don’t worry. His movement and heading is great, once he gets his first goal that will give him so much confidence and we’ll see a very good player.)
And my last point. Szczesny – Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs - Arteta, Diaby, Cazorla - Gervinho, Giroud Podolski: this team can win things, and just imagine when we get Jacky Wilshere back. Keep the Faith.
