According to ESPN, Arsenal attacker Lukas Podolski has dismissed reports that the German international was on the verge of leaving the club if the right offer presented itself in the recently concluded transfer window.

Since his return from a serious hamstring injury, Podolski has been on the bench for a good part of the ongoing campaign for the Gunners, a campaign which has seen them rise to the top of the Barclays Premier League. Having only made 8 appearances so far this season, rumours circulated surrounding Podolski’s future, especially with the FIFA World Cup coming up after the season. The second half of the season will be important for Podolski, who will have a point to prove to the German national team as we head towards the summer competition. Podolski has been a consistent feature for the national team in the past, and his partnership with Miroslav Klose was seen as one of the best in the world.

Arsenal have been playing Olivier Giroud as the lone striker in 4-5-1 formation with a dominant midfield and Ozil featuring on the left where Podolski can certainly operate but Wenger has had trouble finding an attacking place for Podolski. Wenger seems reluctant to use Podolski on a regular basis and while it is prudent to ease him back into football after such a long term injury, the time has surely come to use the German striker more particularly as Giroud has simply not been scoring enough.

Unfortunately, it seems that unless there are injuries or Wenger suddenly utilises a different strategy, Podolski’s opportunities will continue to be less than he would like which, despite what he has publicly stated, only puts wood on the fire that he might be open to offers in the summer which will afford him more first team football. More importantly however, is the fact that we are totally under-utilising a goal-scoring talent who could help fire us to the Premier League title if he was only given a chance.