Arsenal were never close to selling Lukas Podolski, insists manager Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has claimed that he was never close to selling Lukas Podolski during the summer and suggested that the German forward will also not be allowed to leave in January.

Podolski came on in the 85th minute against Anderlecht last night and promptly scored the winning goal as Arsenal launched an improbable late comeback to snatch a barely deserved victory. The 29-year-old had not previously featured in the Champions League this season and had also only played three games as a substitute in the Premier League.

Podolski, though, is still regarded as the best finisher at the club and also had the best goals-to-minutes ratio of any Arsenal player last season in the Premier League.

“He is frustrated and I understand that of course,” said Wenger. “But he’s important and he showed that. He will be important in the coming months. It took him a while to get back to a good physical level after the World Cup and now he’s nearly there.

“He was never close to leaving. He has 115 caps for Germany that is not a coincidence. That shows you the quality. I think he is a guy you want to have the ball in the box. His shot is fantastic, his accuracy is great and he has a very short back-lift. I know when he comes on he can score.”

Podolski himself said last week that “hell will freeze over” before he would contemplate joining Tottenham in response to a story that Arsenal’s north London rivals were preparing a bid.

Wenger also acknowledged that Arsenal might easily have lost to Anderlecht after falling behind in the 71st minute and then surviving other clear chances.

“I think the turning point was not to concede the second goal,” said Wenger. “They had a good chance that they didn't take and, in the end, the quality of the players who came on and our experience made the difference unexpectedly. But as long as we didn't concede the second goal, I thought we had a chance to take at least a point. It's a bit unexpected to take the three, considering the quality of the match that Anderlecht played.

“I know by experience that the last five minutes in the Champions League, the nerves play a part. We had to get into these five minutes without conceding the second goal. Of course, if they had scored the second goal, it was game over. I had hope. It didn't look like it would but it happened and that means we took all the risks and in the end, it paid off. It's a little bit a gambling situation that happens in this kind of games and it worked.”

Wenger admitted that he was both concerned by the initial performance of his team but also encouraged by their spirit in mounting an unlikely comeback.

“Anderlecht defended very well,” he said. “I have a big respect for Belgian football, because I have suffered a lot here. They have shown again they have produced a lot of top quality players. We could think all of the big players had left the country, but they produce again some good players. They do remarkable work with their academy.”

Arsenal are now second in Champions League Group D, three points behind Dortmund but five clear of Anderlecht and Galatsaray.

“Let's first win the next one when we play Anderlecht at home,” said Wenger. “We have learned a lot about them tonight and if we beat them then we have a good chance to qualify. Then we play Dortmund at home and will see what we can do.”