The Gunners were not only beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester City, but they were also prematurely knocked out of numerous cup competitions throughout the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side dived out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals to Bayern Munich, they lost to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup third round and West Ham swept them aside in the Carabao Cup round of 16. While Arsenal may have taken a step in the right direction, they ultimately ended the campaign empty-handed.
The north Londoners are currently four years without a trophy – their last coming in 2020 when they stormed past Chelsea in the FA Cup final behind closed doors. In order to end Arsenal’s barren run, Podolski believes his former side must sign a target man.
Gabriel Jesus led the Arsenal frontline at the start of the season before Kai Havertz took the reins following some unimpressive performances in midfield. Speaking to the Mail Online, Podolski said: “I watch Arsenal and Koln games.
“I like the mentality of Mikel Arteta. They’ve made a huge step forward, but at the moment they are playing with Kai Havertz up front. They brought in Declan Rice but if they really want to compete next year they need a number nine, a target striker who scores goals.”
Then, when asked who he’d like to see wearing his old number nine shirt, Podolski said: “Harry Kane was the one who wanted to change, but with his history of Tottenham, of course it is not possible to move to Arsenal.
“That is why he moved to Bayern Munich. It was a good move for Bayern Munich and him. He was the only option on the market. Bayern paid a lot for him, but he’s scoring goals like he did before. It’s nice to see a player from the Premier League coming to the Bundesliga.
“You move to the Premier league these days because money is involved. The only club in Germany that can pay a good salary and a transfer fee is Bayern. For the rest, it’s not possible. Only Bayern can do something like that with Kane. There’s no chance for the rest.
“Kane is scoring goals but I see the story already when Bayern Munich are third in the Bundesliga and out of the Champions League. Maybe we have another good story like Tottenham – move to Bayern and don’t win anything!”