In a game where Arsenal looked unlikely to go through as top dogs, Wenger took the chance to change the look of his side radically. There were plenty of fresh new faces, including Joel Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Hector Bellerin all getting surprise starting places.
In truth, it was a training game for this Arsenal side, but a 4-1 victory over Galatassary was undermined by the fact they only finished second in the group, losing out to goal difference with German giants Borussia Dortmund.
It wasn’t all for nothing though, the Gunners needed a performance following the weekends shock defeat to Stoke City, and as you can see from these three points, it may just be the starting point for many of these players season.
1 – Podolski Is Staying Put
With Arsenal adapting the side all over the field, Podolski was one of many to be called up into the starting line up, something that is quite new to him this year, after his only other start came in the League Cup defeat to Southampton.
It hasn’t been easy for the German in recent weeks, with several spots on the bench, and losing out on a first team place by newcomer Danny Welbeck, it’s easy to see why Podolski was getting frustrated. Much media speculation has linked him with a January move back to his beloved Cologne. Although Poldi has been quick to deny any rumours, Arsenal fans have grown concerned whether he is still good enough to be at the club.
We all knew this was his chance to show why he is good enough to stick around, and it took just two minutes to do so. A sublime swing of his left leg resulted in his classic strike at goal, simply unstoppable for any goalkeeper between the sticks.
From the first minute to the last, Podolski never ran out of ideas, and that proved when he grabbed a second goal in the dying embers of the game, holding off a number of the Galatassary defenders to coolly slot home the fourth goal. Podolski showed a number of characteristics that Alexis pulls off, and by no means am I comparing the two, but Lukas really gave Wenger something to think about when it comes to his team selection on Saturday evening.