Arsenal forward’s admission should have Newcastle on alert

By his own admission Lukas Podolski will slide even further down the Arsenal pecking order now Danny Welbeck has arrived for £16m, meaning a January exit could be in the offing.

Caught in between being labelled as a striker and a left-sided midfielder, Podolski has hardly ever been trusted to lead the line at Arsenal.

And just when his big chance was looming, the Londoners signed Welbz instead – who is 9/4 to bag a goal on debut.

“Initially, it’s a difficult situation for me,” said Podolski. “When you buy new players for a lot of money, they have an advantage because they will play.”

So far this season Podolski has played just over 15 minutes in the Premier League at Leicester, with Arsene Wenger overlooking him up front in favour of both Yaya Sanogo and star signing Alexis Sanchez.

In theory crocked Olivier Giroud is certainly still ahead of him in Arsene Wenger’s first-team plans too, while Theo Walcott’s forthcoming return to fitness will only apply more pressure to the slots he generally operates in.

At 29, Podolski still has much to offer and leaving the Emirates for a club such as Newcastle could be the perfect match for a player who also wishes to continue playing for his country through Euro 2016.

Not one of Newcastle’s strikers have got off the mark yet in the Premier League and the Magpies have just been dealt a severe blow with the news fresh signing Siem de Jong, a potential source of goals, is likely to be out for a number of months through injury.

Podolski netted a healthy return of 16 goals in his first full season at Arsenal and still managed to net 12 times in 27 appearances during 2013/14 despite being regularly placed on the bench.

Having also amassed 47 goals for the world champions in 118 Germany caps, a move to St James’ Park could greatly benefit both parties.

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