Lukas Podolski names Arsenal’s best player and summer signing who ‘has to improve’
Lukas Podolski has hailed Bukayo Saka as a ‘born dribbler’ and Arsenal’s best player ahead of the side’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan.
It has been a difficult few weeks for Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s men suffering a concerning dip and managing just two wins from their last five matches in all competitions.
The Gunners’ 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle on Saturday means the club have dropped points in each of their last three games in the Premier League, leaving them seven points adrift of top-of-the-table Liverpool.
On Wednesday night, Arsenal have a perfect opportunity to get their season back on track away to Simone Inzaghi’s in-form Inter.
After opening their European campaign with a goalless draw at Atalanta, Arsenal got the better of both Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk and can leapfrog Inter in the Champions League table with victory at the San Siro.
Arsenal are hopeful Martin Odegaard could return from his ankle injury to feature in Milan, with the north London giants undoubtedly lacking creativity in the middle of the park in the Norwegian’s absence this season.
According to ex-Arsenal forward Podolski, though, Saka remains Arteta’s most important asset heading into the contest.
Asked to name the club’s best player, Podolski – who also spent six months on loan at Inter – told La Gazzetta dello Sport: ‘Bukayo Saka. A born dribbler.’
On Inter’s standout player, Podolski told replied: ‘I say [Marcus] Thuram.
‘Arsenal don’t have a striker like that.
‘There is Havertz, that’s true, but he’s not a No.9. That’s the difference.’
Summer signing Riccardo Calafiori has quickly won Arsenal fans over thanks to a string of confident showings following his summer move from Bologna.
Podolski – a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 – has been impressed by Calafiori but believes there is still major room for improvement in the defender’s all-round game.
‘Arsenal are not a club of inexperienced people. They know what they’re doing and if they spent that money it’s because they believe in the player,’ he added.
‘I honestly say he’s not at his best yet, he has to improve, but it’s just a matter of time.’
Quizzed on which team he favours ahead of Wednesday’s clash, the German replied: ‘It’s hard to say. Inter… are Inter.
‘Simone Inzaghi’s philosophy is known to everyone, but if I have to choose a style that bewitches me, I’d go for Arteta’s.
‘I love what he manages to convey when the Gunners play football.’
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