Lukas Podolski Thread

[GP]

I have no issue with Giroud's work rate and he does bring some things to the table, but it can be painful, the amount of time he needs to turn and get a shot away.

Won the pelanty and scored the 2nd. Seems a bit strange to criticise Giroud for Saturday's performance.

[Letters]

For a first season in a new team and league Giroud has done well. He's not world class but he's doing a job.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Won the pelanty and scored the 2nd. Seems a bit strange to criticise Giroud for Saturday's performance.

I'm not criticising Saturday's performance - especially as I saw so little of the match. It is more of a general comment.

As for the penalty, how could you possibly have called that given you were watching on a dodgy feed and the ref was only ten yards away looking right at it?

[Cripps_orig]

Giroud's lack of movement is a real killer for us. There are plays out there than can have that slow movement but create space for themselves and others with a crafty touch or flick. Giroud just doesn't have that sort of ability. His touches and passing is inconsistent and he's best when on the move.

Many a time this season play has broken up with him. He's too slow and doesn't do much. We look far better when we had Theo upfront. Against the big clubs, Giroud is pretty much anonymous as he's too easy to defend against. We'll get away with it from time to time v the likes of Norwich etc and he did win the penalty and pressure Bassong in to the OG but even Wenger notices his lack of movement and that speaks volumes as he doesn't see anything.

I don't understand why Podolski hasn't been tried upfront. Even Gervinho has.

[Power n Glory]

That’s just it, you don’t need bags of pace when working in tight areas. You just need that sharpness to get the ball out of your feet quickly to pop off a shot. Pods goal is an example. The ball was played right into his feet and it wasn’t a great ball. He still had to turn and work a shot before getting closed down. If that were Giroud, I’d doubt he’d have controlled the ball or turned quick enough to pop a shot off. Even if he did, I doubt it would have been accurate enough to beat the keeper and slip under the defenders. He needs too much time to sort his feet out when static and I needs more space. Most of his goals have come from getting on the end of crosses and bundling it in, headers and real scrappy goals where it’s just a case of getting good contact on the ball. He really needs to work on his technique and when he’s too static we suffer. That’s what I mean about his lack of movement killing our game and it hampers him. He needs to work to his strengths.

[Özim]

So Podolski will have to wait years before he gets to play upfront ala Walcott?

Also Girouds lack of movement hasn't gone unnoticed
I'd be worried if Wenger was happy with a player only performing for 45 minutes of a match. Maybe we should pay him half his salary?

[Power n Glory]

Olivier Giroud was also on target against Norwich, with Wenger full of praise for the striker’s second-half display.
“I think he had a very, very average first half and a very, very positive and influential second half. He was much more in the game in the second half," he said.
“He looked in the first half like he was not on the move when he got the ball. In the second half he was much more mobile and that made a difference.”


It's a talking point. I agree with Wenger about Giroud's performance in the game. Criticism, observation....whatever....we need the team to play more like how we did in the 2nd half.

[Globalgunner]

"We look far better when we had Theo upfront".

Cripps give it up pls. You can only take this so far. Everybody else has eyes too you know. He was garbage, like against Bayern if you recall.

[Cripps_orig]

Or like against Newcastle when he scored a hat trick

Look, I can pick a game out as well.

Bottom line, his pace enables us to play quicker and his finishing is better than Girouds. Likewise Podolski isn't as fast but his finishing is better than both.

With not much to play for this season, don't see the harm in trying out the German upfront

[Globalgunner]

Lets agree on playing Poldi up front.

[Grebbo]

Podolski is very slow and his movement is poor. He's a very un-like Wenger signing. Although his finishing is excellent.

I think he's better as an impact sub and I'm surprised he hasn't had more playing time.

Giroud is equally as slow and his finishing is worse but usually his movement is much better and creates space/opportunities for others.

The bottom line is neither are good enough to play up front for us if we are ever going to achieve anything.

[Globalgunner]

Two strikers with different attributes but only one is clinical in crunch games. ...........What to do what to do.....?. Eureka! I have got it...play them both. A good manager adopts his system to suit the players at his disposal, Not I would suggest, the other way around. We should revert to a 442, We only need a more robust, and mobile DM and drop Arteta because that he is not. At Everton he was more of an AM, same at Rangers before that.

a system is only limited in its flexibility by the intelligence of the players on the pitch and the manager deploying them. Juventus play with 3 CBs for G`s sake? and they are doing OK I guess.

Another option of course is to buy a better, more superior CF.

[Cripps_orig]

Get a better striker and play 4-4-2

[Power n Glory]

That is what I thought we’d do. I didn’t think for a second we’d play Pod on the wings. When we lost RVP I thought Wenger was looking for a one two combination and create a partnership with Pod and Giroud. For a winger, Pod is an unlikely Wenger signing and Giroud is a very unlikely Wenger signing too.

As for Theo up front, he’s had one game up front since signing a deal and that was against Bayern Munich. He had a poor game but that’s against Bayern Munich. They’re in the Semi’s of the Champs League. It’s not the same as playing against Norwich. I would just like to see Wenger tinker with the team selection so we’re playing to our strengths and exploiting a weakness of our opponents. We can’t really afford to have many more games like that. If we weren’t awarded the penalty, I fear we’d have lost that game.

[Marc Overmars]

All our strikers "can do a job" but they're also fairly limited in what they can provide.

Michu and Benteke have scored more playing for lesser sides, so for me this is the weakest selection of forwards we've had in years.

[selassie]

All our strikers "can do a job" but they're also fairly limited in what they can provide.

Michu and Benteke have scored more playing for lesser sides, so for me this is the weakest selection of forwards we've had in years.

Yep.

Benteke is someone we should be looking at regardless of whether Villa stay up. Benteke has huge potential and IMO could do a very good job for us now. He would be an upgrade on Giroud.

[Cripps_orig]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2013/05/26/4006206/podolski-completely-satisfied-at-arsenal-despite-juventus

Looks like he's staying which is good.

Very good player being mistreated by a terrible manager.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Potato/10

[Cripps_orig]

LUKAS PODOLSKI is a summer transfer target for Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal face a battle to keep the striker who scored after just nine seconds of Germany’s 4-2 win over Ecuador last week.

SunSport revealed in April that Atletico Madrid are also interested in Podolski.

He arrived at the Emirates for £11million last year but German giants Dortmund are looking to see if Arsenal are prepared to offload him.

The Champions League finalists have money to spend after selling Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich for £31.5m, while Robert Lewandowski could also follow him to Bavaria.

Podolski, 27, who has played 109 times for his country, scored 16 times in his first season with the Gunners after joining from Cologne.

SunSport revealed seven weeks ago the player feared for his future in North London having been frozen out by Arsene Wenger — although he did win back his starting place.

Podolski is understood to be happy in London but a big offer could tempt Arsenal’s resolve.

However, boss Wenger has £70m to spend and is looking to build on his squad rather than sell.


Dortmund need to fuck off tbh

Also £70m :lol:

[Cripps_orig]

ARSENE WENGER will give Borussia Dortmund the cold shoulder in their bid to land Lukas Podolski.
The German giants have more than £80million to spend. But their proposed £10m bid is £1m less than Arsenal paid Cologne a year ago.
And Wenger will not consider selling Podolski at a loss.
The Gunners striker impressed Dortmund after he scored 16 times last season.
But he wants to prove himself in North London after what was an inconsistent campaign.
And his chances of doing that received a boost with news he will not need surgery on his left ankle.


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4980070/Lukas-Podolski-Borussia-Dortmund-bid-blocked.html#ixzz2X2LlSCD8

They can take Giroud instead

[bunsco]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2013/05/26/4006206/podolski-completely-satisfied-at-arsenal-despite-juventus

Looks like he's staying which is good.

Very good player being mistreated by a terrible manager.

What he said. - Well the mistreated/misused bit.

[bunsco]

He's a proper striker but his lack of flexibility with where he can be effective means he'll always be the odd man out under Wenget.

:gp:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Potato/10

On reflection, I was a bit too generous.

[Cripps_orig]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5000861/Lukas-Podolski-23m-Gonzalo-Higuain-doesnt-scare-me.html

Podolski :bow:

[Niall_Quinn]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5000861/Lukas-Podolski-23m-Gonzalo-Higuain-doesnt-scare-me.html

Podolski :bow:

Players we can't sign wouldn't scare me either.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal can win the Premier League - Podolski

The Gunners are now eight years without a trophy and nine without a league title, but the Germany international believes Arsene Wenger's current side can end the drought
Lukas Podolski insists Arsenal can end their eight-year trophy drought by winning the Premier League title this season. The Gunners have not been crowned the best team in England since the 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04, while their last silverware came in the form of the 2005 FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United. But Podolski is confident Arsene Wenger's current side can end the club's drought, though he admits winning trophies in England is a lot harder than in other leagues around Europe. "It will not be easy," he told The Daily Mirror. "Everyone thinks it's easy to get a trophy. "You have five or six teams who fight for first place. It's not like in Spain where it's just two teams and in Germany you just have Dortmund and Bayern. "It's not easy in England. It's so competitive. "At Arsenal we have good players, a great coach and great fans. If we can pull it together then I believe we can win the Premier League." Podolski finished third in the club's goalscoring charts last season behind Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, and is hoping to raise his performances for the new campaign. "I will try to play better, score more goals and do some assists for Arsenal," he added. "It's very important that we qualify for the Champions League and fight for the championship. "It was my first year and I'm very happy. We will see how much I can improve and whether I can get better."

If we win the league, it'll be the greatest achievement by any football club ever

[Özil's Panoramic View]

What the fuck is he on talking about 5 or 6 teams fighting for 1st place? :haha:

[Cripps_orig]

What the fuck is he on talking about 5 or 6 teams fighting for 1st place? :haha:

Man utd, man city, man city reserves, Chelsea, Chelsea reserves.

That's 5

I don't think Moyes influence will have set in yet so expect man utd to up there this season

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Man utd, man city, man city reserves, Chelsea, Chelsea reserves.

That's 5

I don't think Moyes influence will have set in yet so expect man utd to up there this season

Moyes. :haha:

SWAYR. :pal:

[Özim]

If we win the league, it'll be the greatest achievement by any football club ever
Oh noes, he's been brainwashed by Wenger.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Oh noes, he's been brainwashed by Wenger.

It's much nicer having players who believe they can win before the season so they start it believing they can win rather then turning up with an attitude of we won't win so let's not give a shit all season as what's the point?

[Özim]

It's much nicer having players who believe they can win before the season so they start it believing they can win rather then turning up with an attitude of we won't win so let's not give a shit all season as what's the point?
Thinking we can win the title with the state of our current squad? It's good to be confident but there's confident and then there's living in the clouds.

This team without a a few top class signings has got no hope of the title, even if they all believe we can win it by 20 points!

[Özil's Panoramic View]

It's much nicer having players who believe they can win before the season so they start it believing they can win rather then turning up with an attitude of we won't win so let's not give a shit all season as what's the point?

Can't recall any of our players ever taking this approach. Still, our recent seasons have all been shit.

[fakeyank]

Thinking we can win the title with the state of our current squad? It's good to be confident but there's confident and then there's living in the clouds.

This team without a a few top class signings has got no hope of the title, even if they all believe we can win it by 20 points!

:lol:

Its like going in with full confidence of beating a UFC fighter having not trained for the last 10 years. Confidence.. :haha:

[Ollie the Optimist]

They say we can win the league = living in cloud cuckoo land

They say they hope to get top four = wenger only wants top four

They say they won't win anything = losers


They'll be hammered by some whatever these players say. I personally prefer to see my teams players talking up winning the league etc then all the negative shit elsewhere

[GP]

They say we can win the league = living in cloud cuckoo land

They say they hope to get top four = wenger only wants top four

They say they won't win anything = losers


They'll be hammered by some whatever these players say. I personally prefer to see my teams players talking up winning the league etc then all the negative shit elsewhere

Obviously, but that wouldn't be wumming, would it?

[Cripps_orig]

They say we can win the league = living in cloud cuckoo land

They say they hope to get top four = wenger only wants top four

They say they won't win anything = losers


They'll be hammered by some whatever these players say. I personally prefer to see my teams players talking up winning the league etc then all the negative shit elsewhere
A simple "we will try our best to win trophies" would be fine tbh

[Özim]

They say we can win the league = living in cloud cuckoo land

They say they hope to get top four = wenger only wants top four

They say they won't win anything = losers


They'll be hammered by some whatever these players say. I personally prefer to see my teams players talking up winning the league etc then all the negative shit elsewhere

1) Correct
2) We know that's the case, would prefer to be honest unlike the manager and recognise that we need signings to compete
3) No, that would be realistic, I'd expect them to say we'll give it our all, but we need top class signings to have a more realistic chance

They won't get hammered, Wenger will however, for years of neglect, settling for 4th place (he's in charge after all not the players) the transfer debacle and his lies.

If he doesn't want to be criticised then he should do something positive for a change rather than spout out nonsense about us being able to win this and that.

[Özim]

Obviously, but that wouldn't be wumming, would it?
:console:

[Power n Glory]

What the fuck is he on talking about 5 or 6 teams fighting for 1st place? :haha:

Maybe a slight exaggeration about the 5/6 teams but there are more teams in England that have squads strong enough to win the league. Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal :lol:, Liverpool ain’t won in years but are a big enough squad…he has a point.

[Cripps_orig]

Conversations with Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski followed, leaving Özil convinced.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10284922/Mesut-Ozils-42m-move-to-Arsenal-sealed-with-one-phone-call-from-manager-Arsene-Wenger.html

Pod :bow: