A Key Signing That Arsene Wenger Totally Wasted

Arsene Wenger has an incredible reputation for both developing and getting the best out of his players. His success at Arsenal was largely built on buying cheap players and maximising their potential by transforming them into superstars. Despite all his success in this area, Arsene Wenger was occasionally guilty of signing a player and stunting his career.

These were players with all the talent in the world, but once Arsene Wenger was done with them, and being benched or not being played in positions that they were comfortable with, these players did not end up doing well. Their careers were hurt forever.

The German forward joined Arsenal in 2012 for a deal in the range of £10 million. Signing a 27-year-old German international closing in on nearly 100 caps seemed to be a major coup for the London side. A promising debut season saw the German score 16 goals despite prominently being deployed from the wing. His second season was challenging as he struggled with injuries but the player still averaged more than a goal every three games. Podolski also earned his first trophy with the club after playing 60 minutes in the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City.

His third season unravelled slowly as Wenger struggled to find a role for the experienced German in his squad. Podolski’s lack of defensive awareness and fitness eventually resulted in him being dropped from the first team and a loan to Inter Milan followed. With Wenger having no plans, the player opted to join Galatasaray in the summer of 2015. Podolski’s talent was ultimately wasted in London due to Wenger not being able to accommodate the German in his attacking system.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *