Making his mark: Podolski is planning to get an Arsenal tattoo done
The German striker has one of former club Cologne's badge on his right arm and says there could be a Gunners one on his left before too long
Lukas Podolski one day hopes to have an Arsenal tattoo on his left arm – to go with the one of Cologne he already has on his right.
The World Cup striker got a tattoo of the German club as a permanent reminder that he established himself as a legend at his former club.
And when the Mirror asked him when he will get a Gunners tattoo, Podolski said: “Maybe on this one – my left arm – in a few years!
“Cologne meant so much to me because I was there a long time. Maybe I will do the same with Arsenal because I like this club.
“It is a big club and maybe we can do a tattoo. We can speak about this in the next three or four years.”
Podolski had his Cologne tattoo done just before he left the club, almost as a farewell gesture to the fans.
While some players kiss the badge, Podolski plainly likes to leave a more permanent reminder and is already becoming a hero among Arsenal fans.
Podolski has scored three goals in his first five games, has a terrific work rate and is helping fans forget about Robin van Persie.
The Germany international has settled in remarkably quickly and yet he insists he wishes van Persie had stayed and does not want to be seen as a replacement for the Dutchman.
Podolski also praised his new team-mates for their help in acclimatising to English football and says they have made it all look easy.
"For me it was better if he (van Persie) stayed - he is a world-class player and I hoped that he stayed and we played together," said Podolski. "But he made a decision and it is the team of Arsenal that is important.
"When I came on the first day to the club everyone made it easy for me. Not only the team around the team, the coaches, the physios, the president and all the staff make it easy for me. I feel happy at Arsenal. It is good for me.
"The team and Arsene Wenger make it easy on the pitch. Last week we played very well. This is the style of football that I like - we play with one or two touches.
"We play straight to the front and this is the style that I like. But we have only played four or five matches and we are not ready to speak about the title or the Champions League.
"We must carry on playing like the last few matches and we must keep on fighting.
"When you are playing up front you want to score goals and like to score goals. when you score goals you are very happy for yourself and for the team.
"I don't know about targets - we will see. We have only played four or five matches and I have three goals and I am very happy about the good start for me and for the team.
"We must keep fit and well - it is a long, long season and we don't have a break in the winter like in Germany. So it is different for me, but I like to play football and be on the pitch."
Podolski has benefited from the fact his Germany team-mate Per Mertesacker has already been at the Emirates for a year.
But they are far from being the first Germans to succeed at Arsenal as Gunners legend Jens Lehmann was part of the Invincibles team in 2004 and enjoyed a glorious career at the club.
Lehmann, now a Laureus ambassador, says his fellow Germans can succeed at Arsenal - but still have to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.
Ex-Germany World Cup keeper Lehmann said: "Now with Podolski and Mertesacker they have two German players who are very experienced because of their caps in the national team of Germany, I think they're near 100, both of them are near 100 and still at a young age.
"They are expecting of course to see them performing three times a week on a high level, so far my impression is that everybody's quite happy with them, but everybody knows that they still have to improve, to adapt to the English football and to adapt to the pace of the game there.
"Lukas and Per are both mentally strong and they have definitely got the potential to perform and to improve their game.
"I'm quite optimistic about the current season and hope of course that Arsenal will win something. All right there are some teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man City, Chelsea, who come into the game with big money in the bag, and only one of them can win the trophy.
"That shows you that you have to be better at little details in knowledge, wisdom and approach of your team and of your set-up.
"Arsenal always had a great approach, they always made it into the top four with probably the smallest budget of all the big teams now, and so why should it not happen this year that all of a sudden, when nobody expects them to win something, all of a sudden they go on to win something."
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Firstly, let's hope he's here in 3-4 years time... that could be very doubtful, and secondly, if he is still here I hope he gets the old type badge tattoo done and not the shit current version.... so hmmmm....
