Why Lukas Podolski May Be Sold & Replaced By £25m Rated Attacker

It has again been revealed in the corridors of the Spanish media that Arsenal was close to signing Barcelona forward Pedro. The 27 year old was on the verge of leaving the Nou Camp with the Emirates Stadium as his possible destination after he grew disillusioned at his bit part role under former manager Gerardo Martino. He hinted at a possible departure until he was persuaded to stay put by Luis Enrique, who was appointed following the departure of Tito Martino.

Despite the fact that Arsenal eventually settled for the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, there are still indications that Arsenal could still sign Pedro after all. This is borne out of several intervening factors that would be at play. Although admittedly it is based on conjuncture, yet there is a strong possibility of it happening.

The reason for which he considered his position in the summer has still not been addressed. He is still finding game time hard to go by, with Munir El Haddadi most times preferred to him. This is in the absence of Luis Suarez. The return of the Uruguayan later this month would further reduce the playing time of Pedro. This again could play into Arsenal’s hand as they could use the situation of his lack of playing time to go for him.

Beside, there is a strong chance that this could be Lukas Podolski’s last season at Arsenal. The players (Oliver Giroud and Santi Cazorla) that arrived at the time with the German in 2012 have been offered contract extensions, but none have been put on the table of the former Cologne forward, a scenario that points at a possible departure from the Emirates in the next transfer window. Spanish international Pedro could be a viable replacement for Lukas Podolski if he leaves Arsenal. He has the same qualities as the German, but he is clearly an upgrade on Lukas Podolski as he possesses more guile and intelligence on the ball than the latter. And he is comfortable at playing in more than one position.

There is also the small matter of Santi Cazorla who is not getting any younger as he recently clocks thirty. Pedro could still be an option for Arsenal’s ambidextrous midfielder.

He is the exactly the kind of player Arsene Wenger loves to have within it ranks. He is versatile, can play in both wings, and as a forward. It is no wonder that he has continually been linked to Arsenal in the last couple of years.