Arsenal: Why Lukas Podolski Will Be Gunners' Most Important Player Next Season

There is a different atmosphere about Arsenal and the club's fans than in previous summers, and it signals a positive change within the club.

Whether or not Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud were signed as replacements for Robin van Persie, with the knowledge that the captain would be leaving this summer, the two strikers are fine players who can contribute a lot to the team now that they have arrived.

And, as a bonus, both were sealed before the transfer window even opened, avoiding any long sagas and allowing for proper preseason training.

Podolski and Giroud are two different types of strikers. The former is more well-rounded, more creative and more nimble, while the latter fits the stereotypical mold of a big, physical striker who would succeed in England.

They will both be very influential players next season for Arsenal, but after all the transfer business is done at the end of August, the performance of Podolski will be the more important to the team's success.

In fact, no other player will play a more vital role in the Gunners' success or failure than the German himself.

Primarily, this is because he will be tasked with doing the job of two players, depending how Arsene Wenger plans to use him in any given match.

One would think that Podolski would initially start on the left wing to allow Giroud to assume his natural role at striker and maximize the amount of firepower Arsenal can put on the pitch at one time.

In this case, he will be the most active and dynamic player on the team.

Not only will Podolski have to perform the typical duties of a winger—whipping in crosses, keeping play flowing and fueling counterattacks—he will also cut inside on a regular basis to get into goalscoring positions and use his ability as a striker.

If he can pull off this tremendously versatile balancing act, Arsenal will have the sort of player on the flank that they have been crying out for, and the team will be noticeably improved.

There is, however, the risk that he continues some of the relatively marginal performances that he has recently put in for Germany in his adopted position, which would breed poor form and force a tactical shake-up.

However, Podolski's more important attribute is that he is the closest thing the Gunners have right now to Robin van Persie.

We can safely assume now that van Persie is on his way out of the club. I sympathize with those last stragglers who continue to hope that the Dutchman will have a change of heart, but, as I have stated before, he has irreparably damaged his relationship with the club.

Thus, there is really nowhere for van Persie to go but out. And when he leaves, one of the most valuable skill sets in the world will disappear from the club.

It is not easy to find a striker who is also capable of dropping into midfield and creating from a deeper position, but that is one of the many things that Podolski can do.

As Arsenal's current roster stands, he and van Persie are the only true "No. 10s" who are equally capable of providing to another strike partner as they are sticking one in the back of the net themselves.

Therefore, when the Gunners' current No. 10 departs, there is only one player who is truly capable of stepping into his shoes, if only to a limited degree.

And this opens up a multitude of different tactical options for Wenger to consider and pursue that feature one or both of Podolski and Giroud.

Perhaps Arsenal could play in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Podolski the creator in the hole in front of the midfield and behind the striker, and Giroud the main front man who bangs in the goals with every legal body part.

Or maybe this could be tweaked to more closely resemble a 4-4-2, in which both strikers would play level and in tandem with each other.

Wenger might ultimately decide not to radically change anything at all and rotate Podolski and Giroud at the front of the current 4-3-3 setup, or he could just go with the German on the left flank and the Frenchman at striker.

We don't know, and we won't until the season gets underway and the manager has time to tinker with the team and find the best combination. But therein lies Podolski's value.

He adds a refreshingly dynamic presence on the wing. He gives Arsene Wenger a dizzying array of tactical dilemmas to sort out before every match. And, most importantly, he gives Arsenal a plethora of ways to win.

No other player at the club can reasonably make that claim. That's why none have the potential to transform the club next season like Lukas Podolski.

Follow @charliemelman