Arsenal: 5 Reasons Lukasz Podolski Is a Good Fit for the Gunners

The news that German international forward Lukasz Podolski had signed for a four-year deal Arsenal for £10 million on Monday was met with widespread applause.

There was little surprise in the announcement, since Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had admitted as far back as March that he was "interested" in signing the player.

Now that's all done and dusted. The first new signing of the summer is on board, before the European Championships. The timing couldn't be better, as a good performance by Podolski in Poland (his country of birth) and Ukraine could have driven up his asking price.

Podolski presents himself as the sort of experienced attacking presence that the Gunners were missing this season outside of captain Robin van Persie.

The two players who would have provided that cover—Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young—have never figured into Wenger's plans. For Chamakh, it was a lack of confidence that did him in. For Park? Well, we don't really know why he never got a shot.

Wenger doesn't look ready to deny the German a shot at first-team football, though, as he did Park, hailing the soon-to-be former FC Cologne man as a "top-class finisher" and a "very good performer."

Podolski's return rate this season in the Bundesliga has been nearly Van Persie-esque. His 18 goals in 28 matches (0.64 goals per game) is the type of clinical nature that looks sure to make him a hit at the Emirates.

Van Persie boasts an EPL strike rate of 0.78 goals per game.

Podolski's goal-rate is excellent, his experience at the international level with Germany (95 caps, 43 goals) is great.

Here's five reasons why he can build upon that success at Arsenal.

He Has the Physical Ability to Make an Immediate Impact

At 26, Podolski is a seasoned campaigner, and one who has butted heads against the best teams in the world at both club and international level.

Speaking to goal.com, former Arsenal striker Tony Woodcock offered this glowing appraisal of the newest Gunner.

“Not only does Lukasz (sp.) have the ability and the experience to make a big impact in English football, but he is physically robust and very quick and that will help him a lot," Woodcock said. "He also has an amazing left foot on him as well."

Arsenal fans are certainly no strangers to the wonders that can be unlocked by a sumptuous left foot.

Woodcock also noted that Podolski, who is just now in his prime, has yet to peak as a footballer. And while he struggled during a brief spell at Bayern Munich (2006-09), that experience can only have emboldened him as an individual.

After all, Thierry Henry's struggles at Juventus were well-documented. And "Titi" still turned out all right for Arsenal.

There Will Be Little to No Cultural Shock for Him

Frank Schaefer, Podolski's former manager at Cologne in 2010-11, has endorsed his player's move to the Emirates.

Speaking to British newspaper The Sun, Schaefer listed these reasons for why he believes Podolski will thrive at Arsenal.

"Arsenal is one of the clubs that is absolutely right for Lukasz," Schaefer said.

"First of all, he has the right coach in Arsene Wenger. It will be excellent for Lukas to have a quiet, experienced coach with good psychological abilities. It is also good for Lukasz because Arsene speaks such good German."

(Wenger was born in the French region of Alsace-Lorraine, which abuts Germany.)

"Secondly, I think Arsenal play the type of football which suit Lukas," Schaefer said. "They pay good, offensive football. Physically, Lukas is very strong so he will have no problems in this area.

"Thirdly, Per Mertesacker being at the club is extremely helpful. He is a great person, an intelligent man, and he will be good for Lukasz to have around at Arsenal. Per is a good influence."

Leadership Qualities

No stranger to being thrown into the proverbial fire, Podolski was thrust into first-team football with Cologne as an 18-year-old during the 2003-04 season before becoming the youngest member of Germany's Euro 2004 side.

His career has spanned the good (success at Cologne and with Germany), and not so good (that spell at Bayern), but Schaefer believes he has become the stronger for enduring that psychological burden in Munich.

"I think going to Bayern Munich was extremely difficult for him," Schaefer said. "His body language was not so good and I am not sure if he enjoyed it. But he became strong, and [was] stronger coming back to Cologne."

Schaefer said that the first thing he did upon being named manager of Cologne in October, 2010 was to make Podolski his captain.

"I believe he is a real leader," Schaefer said.

Journalist Raphael Honigstein also delved into the potential reasoning for Podolski's difficult time at Bayern.

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"At Bayern Munich I think two things happened," Honigstein told Arsenal.com. "When he came to them on the back of the 2006 World Cup, he was the next big thing in German football and was expected to be a superstar. But there he found a squad full of other genuine superstars - big names, big players. So that meant he often found himself as second or third choice behind the likes of Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni and Franck Ribery on the left.

"Also, personality-wise I think he was still very young and found it difficult to get on outside of his home town of Cologne. He just got a little bit lost at Munich. But he is a lot more mature now, he is a very different player and is much more developed off the pitch. He will still have to adapt but I don't think the footballing change will be too difficult for him.

"He is not the guy who strays away from the pace or physical side of the game - in fact, I think he enjoys it. He should be fine at Arsenal."

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Versatility in Attack

Said Wenger upon welcoming Podolski to the Arsenal, "[Lukasz] is a very strong player and will provide us with good attacking options."

Comfortable either on the left wing or as a central forward (he's often led the line for Cologne—including this past weekend), Podolski gives the Gunners an internationally experienced option in the attacking third.

It remains to be seen where he will play for the Gunners—his talent is undeniable, and may well lead to Wenger placing him at the left wing in order to get him on the pitch. Otherwise, some fans have felt that employing two strikers (as opposed to the current 4-2-3-1 formation, which uses only the one) would maximize Podolski's potential.

Though he has rarely started a match with two strikers since making the shift to the 4-2-3-1 in 2009-10, Wenger did opt for a 4-4-2 at times during the Carling Cup this season.

Honigstein has compared him, perhaps favorably, to Robin van Persie—the Van Persie who played as a shadow striker to Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor from 2006 to 2009.

Honigstein calls Podolski a "false," or shadow striker, but noted that one of his best qualities as an attacker is that he can deputize out on the wing, as we've often seen with the German national team.

Right Move at the Right Time

Podolski sounds positively buoyant about making the move to his next employer.

"I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal and to play in the Premier League," he said on Monday. "Arsenal is one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history.”

Woodcock agrees. "You have someone in Lukas who ticks all the boxes—right age, right price, great experience, the right time for him to move to another country and he is used to a cult following [at Cologne]. (Podolski's nickname is 'The Prince'.) "There is no reason why he should not be a major success."

Despite Cologne's current fight to survive relegation, Podolski has thrived. Just imagine what he can do once he gets to Arsenal.