Gary Neville: Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski has “unstoppable” power in his left foot

Lukas Podolski

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes that Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski’s questionable form could be born out of frustration at not being given an opportunity to play as a striker. While the ex-Man United man also praised the finishing abilities of the German.

The German international scored two well taken goals in the 3-1 victory over West Ham United on Tuesday night to help his side move back into the top four, one point ahead of rivals Everton.

However, despite the 28-year-old’s fifth and sixth goals of the season, Neville is concerned that he doesn’t contribute enough to Arsene Wenger’s side, with an ambition to play alongside Olivier Giroud a possible explanation.

“He [Lukas Podolski] had a whinge after the game at the weekend that he was being used too sparingly and he wasn’t happy at being substituted, but he doesn’t do enough. He plays within himself every time you watch him play, it looks like he could do more.

“It might be a confidence thing, because as soon as he scored his second goal, he started to actually run around, he made some quick runs in behind.

“You wonder, because he went up-front as well, you wonder whether he wants to play up-front as well – whether he’s a bit annoyed at being stuck out on the left wing and that’s something that’s griping him a little bit.

“Maybe he thinks that all the talk about of Arsenal not having a striker, he’s got a great goalscoring record for his country. Maybe he thinks ‘I deserve that chance up front’ – ‘give me a shout’ – He never has been given that shot,” insisted Neville.

The Gunners’ squad has a staggering amount of midfielders but just two recognised centre forwards in Giroud and Yaya Sanogo, with their lack of fire power often cited as a reason behind their recent struggles.

However, if Podolski were given more of a chance he could be a success, with Neville of the belief the forward possesses an excellent level of finishing.

“He has a hammer of a left foot, once he gets into that position [in the box] , his accuracy is fantastic and his power is unstoppable and he doesn’t get in there [the box] enough. But when he does get in there, he is clinical to be fair to him,” he declared.

Lukas Podolski has a 68% shot accuracy this season, 26% better than Olivier Giroud’s total of 42%.