Lukas Podolski has joined Galatasaray from Arsenal on a three-year deal, with the Turkish club paying about £1.8m.
The Galatasaray president, Dursun Aydin Ozbek, said: “Podolski was a player we have been following for a long time. We have met the expectations of our fans. We think he will serve us for many years.”
Podolski, 30, was expected to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer having slipped down the pecking order following the arrivals of players such as Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Internazionale and has now signed a contract with the Super Lig champions, with an option for a fourth year in place.
Galatasaray announced the deal on their website, with the former Bayern Munich man tweeting a picture of himself inside the Turk Telecom Arena. Podolski, who scored 19 goals for Arsenal in 60 league appearances after joining them from Cologne in 2012, had long been linked with a move to Galatasaray and his agent Nassim Touihri said on Friday that Arsène Wenger had begrudgingly allowed the player to leave.
“We had good talks with Wenger,” Touihri said. “He wanted to keep Lukas at Arsenal but could not guarantee him a starting position. That’s why we agreed to make a transfer.”
Despite moving to Arsenal with a fine reputation, Podolski’s chances became limited as Wenger added Özil, Sánchez and Danny Welbeck to his forward options. He also has Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at his disposal, making it difficult for the Frenchman to guarantee Podolski the game-time he craves.
