Lukas Podolski didn’t waste any time taking shots at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after completing a loan move to Inter Milan, slamming his former manager for a lack of respect during an exclusive interview with The Sun‘s Charlie Wyett (subscription required).

According to the 2014 World Cup winner, the Gunners boss never even called the forward to say goodbye after he completed his move to Italy:

He said nothing to me. He did not call me or say goodbye.

I don’t need flowers or a kiss from him. But it is about respect, about saying goodbye. For me respect is important.

I did everything for the club I possibly could have. I don’t believe I did anything wrong. I did not get drunk in a club.

I wish all of Arsenal and their amazing fans the very best for this season and I see myself as a Gunner. Nothing from him to me, though, but that is his way.

Podolski and Wenger‘s relationship took a big hit during the first half of the 2014-15 season, with the 29-year-old repeatedly asking for and not receiving more playing time.

The situation reached a breaking point on New Year’s Eve, with the Germany international leaving training and not travelling to Southampton with his team-mates for a match a day later, via the Daily Mirror‘s John Cross.

The forward took to Twitter to refute said claims:

He moved to Serie A soon after, and, as one might expect, he was eager to prove Wenger made a mistake in not playing him more. Despite coming off the bench, he had a big impact on Inter’s 1-1 draw against Italian champions Juventus, via OptaFranz:

Podolski is still technically a Gunner, on loan with the Nerazzurri until the end of the season. His contract doesn’t run out until the end of the 2015-16 season, via Transfermarkt.co.uk, and on paper at least, he should just return to the Emirates at the end of the current campaign.

A happy reunion in north London appears unlikely, however, and per the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust’s Tim Payton, these latest comments won’t help his case:

Podolski‘s reception in Italy couldn’t stand in a starker contrast to his last few months with the Gunners. Thousands of fans greeted him at the airport, he gave a big press conference upon joining and he even had an official presentation after the match against Juventus, despite having already played for the team.

He’s fully expected to make his San Siro debut against Genoa on Sunday, making his first competitive start since the Champions League match against Galatasaray, in which he scored twice. That fixture was a turning point in his decision to leave Arsenal:

Wenger said to me I was the best finisher at the club. Let me play, then. If you always play ten or 15 minutes, you can show nothing. I was coming on at either 0-0 or 2-0 or 3-0 down. My team-mates were asking me what was going on, but this is the life of a footballer.

The big moment was after the Champions League game. I played a very good game against Galatasaray and then I was on the bench again. I knew I had to move.

Wenger isn’t known as an affectionate manager, and opinion on Podolski‘s transfer and his subsequent slamming of his former manager was divided on social media. Some suggested Podolski didn’t receive a fair shake—others believed he should just suck it up.

One thing stood very clear in the German’s interview, however, perhaps best encapsulated by Sport Witness:

Podolski was ever a particularly good fit for Wenger‘s system, and there’s likely a reason the manager refused to give him an extended run of matches apart from personal dislike.

For all of his ability as a finisher, the World Cup hero never put in the work defensively or showed enough proficiency holding up the ball to be an effective lone striker. A departure from the Emirates seemed likely by the time December came around and taking shots at a former manager after the dust has settled achieves very little.

 

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