BERLIN
British Premier League side Arsenal's German wing forward Lukas Podolski has said he is not looking to switch his football club.
In an interview with the German magazine Sport Bild Wednesday, Podolski said he was not a backup player. He hinted that some people wanted to see him down, but he would not allow that to happen. He added that he was experienced enough to get over the tough times.
He also talked about the transfer offers from the Turkish club Galatasaray, Italian side Juventus and several U.S. clubs.
The Poland-born German player said London giants' French manager Arsene Wenger asked him to stay at the club so he rejected all the transfer offers.
"I feel comfortable in London, but I am going to talk with the club and manager to see what is good for both sides. I want to play football and I'm not the kind of player warming the bench until my contract expires," he said.
He said he felt disappointed about not playing regularly. "Whenever I played for the team, I made the best of the confidence about my performance," he said.
Podolski said his international team career was getting affected negatively because he could not play for London clubs due to Wenger's choices. The players who play regularly for their clubs have an advantage over him at the German National Football Team, he said.
He also recalled Germany's head coach Joachim Low's remarks: "If you don't play for your club regularly, you should not expect to be selected for the national team, that's why you should struggle."
Nicknamed "Poldi," the German has scored 28 goals and produced 17 assists for Arsenal in 74 matches since July 2012.
www.aa.com.tr/en
