Lukas Podolski believes Mikel Arteta can help Arsenal win Premier League this season (Image source: Getty)
Lukas Podolski believes Mikel Arteta can help Arsenal win Premier League this season (Image source: Getty)
Lukas Podolski believes Mikel Arteta can guide Arsenal to Premier League glory this season, suggesting that there is ‘something extra’ about the current Gunners team.
With 10 league matches remaining, Arsenal hold a five-point lead at the top of the table. However, the league leaders have played one more game than second-placed Manchester City. Arsenal are looking to win their first Premier League title in 22 years and put an end to their near misses, having ended up as runners-up in each of the last three seasons.
Speaking to Flashscore in an exclusive interview, Podolski expressed confidence in Arteta to get Arsenal over this line this season, saying:
“I think so because I feel this season (there is) something extra and I hope so, especially for Mikel (Arteta). He invests a lot, and he tries a lot, I am happy to also play with him on the pitch.”
Podolski played with Arteta at Arsenal between 2012 and 2015. The German forward claimed that he felt ‘something extra’ about Arteta while they were playing together and insisted that the Spaniard is doing a great job at the Emirates. He added:
“I also felt when I played with him, he had something extra, I felt he wanted to become a coach when he finished his career. He always wanted to be something extra, he always talked with Arsene Wenger after the training, after the games, so you feel he wanted to be a coach or he wanted to continue in football and seeing now to continue and to do a great job is fantastic.”
While Arteta has since transitioned into football management, Podolski is seeing out his storied career with Polish side Gornik Zabrze.
“He connected with the players” – Podolski recalls his time under legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
In the same interview, Podolski recalled his time at the Emirates under Arsene Wenger. Podolski was full of praise for Wenger, hailing his man management and describing him as a father off the pitch.
“Off the pitch, he was like a father, like a great guy, never shouting, never being aggressive,” he added. “He connected with the players, always kind, open to talk with him, always straightforward.
“(It was a) fantastic time, fantastic to meet coaches like Arsene Wenger and also maybe in the future, (to be) this kind of coach like Arsene Wenger, like Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes, Joachim Low, you learn from everyone to maybe become some coach or another position in a club, and this gives you a lot.”
During his short spell at the Emirates, Podolski scored 31 goals and provided 16 assists in 82 appearances across competitions.