Arsène Wenger has accused Internazionale of messing Arsenal around with a proposed January move for Lukas Podolski. The manager described the Italian side’s reported desire to take Podolski on loan as a “joke” and said the club were “not serious” about the player.
“They talk,” Wenger said. “There is only talks. Podolski is a player of Arsenal football club and I want him to stay. Apart from that, what it is to be professional is that as long as you are somewhere, you give your best to justify your wages and your love for the club. I hope that he will still be an Arsenal player at the end of January. Inter? That is a joke. Inter is not serious.”
Wenger said that Podolski was hardly at a stage in his career where he would benefit from gaining playing time and experience on loan. “That’s not the case for Podolski but players who need practice because they’re at a very young age,” Wenger said.
Inter have financial problems – they could be censured for a possible Financial Fair Play rule breach – and they have come to see Podolski as a cut-price option.
The manager, Roberto Mancini, wants to add experienced quality in wide areas for his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation and Podolski, who has been frustrated at his lack of opportunities at Arsenal, is receptive to the switch. He has 18 months to run on his contract.
But there is a discrepancy between the loan fee that Inter could pay and the one that Arsenal would want. Inter could stretch to £750,000; Arsenal would demand double that figure.
Wenger is overloaded with attacking players and has admitted he cannot satisfy them all. He will be without Olivier Giroud, though, for the New Year’s Day trip to Southampton because the forward is suspended while Wenger reported that Danny Welbeck was a doubt because of a thigh problem that he picked up in Sunday’s 2-1 win at West Ham United.
Podolski has started just two matches this season – against Southampton in the Capital One Cup and at Galatasaray in the Champions League, when he scored twice. He also scored the team’s last-minute winner at Anderlecht after coming on as a substitute.
“Podolski is part of a list of players that we are following,” Roberto Mancini, the Inter manager, said. “So we will see what will come of it.”