The 26 year-old, whose contract with his current Bundesliga side expires in 2013 and has been actively pursuing a move away from Germany for the good of his career has apparently agreed a four year deal with Arsenal worth £100,000 per week and will join Wenger's squad at the end of the current season.
The striker, who has cored 16 goals in 20 League games this season for Koln, has been linked to a number of clubs of late, with big monetary deals supposedly in the offing for him to gobble up, but Podolski recently stated a move would not be for the money: "Money is not the most important thing for me. What is crucial is the development of my game."
Coincidentally, Arsenal would not be able to compete with clubs with backing from billionaire owners willing to spend huge amounts on players wages, which suggests Podolski has had his heart set on a move to Arsenal. This notion has indeed been supported by a current member of the Arsenal squad, who has played with Podolski in the German national team - Per Mertesacker.
The Arsenal defender explained that Podolski has been in contact and has been eager to find out about Arsenal, saying: “He has been very interested in the past few weeks and has sent me a number of text messages. I’ve told him that this is a great place to work and that Arsenal are an amazing club. Nothing has been agreed on yet, though, and Lukas hasn’t given me a ring yet."
Perhaps Mertesacker's praise of Arsenal tipped the balance in Arsenal's favour in terms of persuading Podolski to Arsenal. If reports are true and the left footed striker is on his way to the Emirates at the end of the season, it will certainly boost Robin van Persie's cause as well as adding a reliability and power to the Arsenal attack which is crucial to the sides progress.
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