Former FC Cologne hero Lukas Podolski wants to return to Arsenal after switching Emirates Stadium with Giuseppe Meazza on a six-month loan spell in January, despite being linked with a move to Turkish outfit Galatasaray amongst others.

A regretful Podolski stated to German newspaper Bild that he has always felt comfortable in London; with "the fans, with the team and also with the manager". He also said that he will be "going back to play" and that his "qualities suit Arsenal". 

Absence of games and goals

The Bayern Munich reject provided only a single goal for Internazionale, coming against Udinese in late April, as well as picking up two bookings and contributing one assist in the Serie A. In fairness, he only completed the full 90 minutes on two occasions in the league, but the lack of goals might have something to do with it, or the other way around, depending on perception. Nonetheless, being subbed off on six of the eight league outings is hardly the dream for any footballer.

"English football suits me best"

With the likes of Theo Walcott, Mesut Özil, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez battling for the game time at Arsenal, Podolski will eventually have a mountain to climb if he remains at the club. Whatever happens, he will not be an Inter player come August. He proclaimed, in the same interview, that English football is the one that best suits his style and he has "characteristics to help different teams". Overall he seemed to regret his loan move to the San Siro, saying "it was a mistake to go to Inter with no redemption clauses".

Podolski has only scored 19 Premier League goals for Arsenal in 60 games, equal to team-mate Tomas Roscisky, although the latter needed 170 games to achieve the feat.

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About the author
Nicolas Berg
Football analyst with a degree in media knowledge.