Wednesday, 12th February, 2014
Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has denied he was ever likely to leave Arsenal this season even though there is still some long-standing regret about his Bayern Munich days.
Podolski was understood to be courted by Tottenham Hotspur, Schalke, Wolfsburg and Galatasaray. A winter switch was rumoured, though the forward stayed put.
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Instead, Podolski chose to reflect on his 2009 exit from Bayern Munich back to boyhood club 1.FC Koln with some degree of sadness.
When asked if Schalke, the biggest transfer link last month, were a destination, Podolski told Bild: "That was a myth. There was absolutely no truth to it.
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"The coach told me as such, and I knew there was no truth in it."
As for his Bayern Munich spell, the regret boiled down to the chance to work under treble-winning coach Jupp Heynckes.
With the benefit of hindsight, Podolski explained: "I believe that if Jupp Heynckes had arrived one or two weeks earlier in 2009, I would probably still be at Bayern now.
"He was desperate to keep me.
"From a purely sporting perspective, returning to Koln was certainly not very helpful."
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