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Galatasaray have confirmed the signing of Lukas Podolski from Arsenal. The 30-year old German World Cup winner arrives in Turkey after falling down the pecking order at the North London club.
It is believed that the deal is worth €4m which takes Podolski to Turkey as he had only a year remaining on his contract at the Emirates. He scored 31 goals and set up 13 more in 82 appearances for Arsenal.
The 2014 World Cup winner signed for Galatasaray in what was a live contract signing which was also streamed on the club's website. After the formalities were over, the new arrival was offered Turkish coffee - much to the amusement of the former Bayern Munich man as reported by the Independent.
“Germany number 10 Lukas Podolski will officially sign the contract at the Türk Telekom Arena today at 16:30 local time, 15:30 CET,” the club wrote on Twitter.
Podolski’s transfer to the 15-time Turkish league champions has been on the cards for quite some time after both the club and the player’s agent had gone public stating that the move was a distinct possibility.
Podolski’ agent Nassim Touihri also spoke of interest from Turkey to Bild: “We had good talks with Wenger.He wanted to keep Lukas at Arsenal but could not guarantee him a starting position. That’s why we agreed to make a transfer, ” Touihri told, as reported by ESPNFC
The player himself talked up of a move to Turkey stating: “If an offer comes in from Turkey, I will sit down and talk about it with my family and girlfriend,” Podolski told NTV Sport, according to ESPNFC.
From a promising start to an uncertain future – Podolski’s time at Arsenal
The German international has endured frustrating times at the Emirates, after making a promising start to his career in England, after moving to Arsenal from FC Koln ahead of the 2012/13 season. Podolski, who has 125 caps for Germany and is the reigning World champions’ third all-time highest scorer, scored 16 goals and assisted 11 more in his debut season.
A hamstring injury kept Podolski out of action for four months in the following season and he fell out of favour with manager Arsene Wenger after he was overlooked in favour of Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo. He failed to start a single league game in the first half of the 2014/15 season before opting to join the Nerazzuri in the January transfer window on loan.
A permanent move, however, looked the only possibility, especially after Podolsk’s rant against Wenger upon leaving the club on loan. Speaking to The Sun, Podolski told, “For me respect is everything. I did everything for the club I possibly could have.”
“He (Wenger) told me he did not want me to go just before the transfer window but never said anything else after that. He did not call or say good bye,” Podolski told as reported by Sky Sports.
Having failed to settle down in Italy as well, after managing a solitary goal in 18 appearances in all competitions, Podolski has moved to Turkey in order to revive his faltering career.
