Something happens to a footballer when they leave England.

They find themselves more open and able to criticse things they don’t like.

Lukas Podolski has been on loan with Inter Milan for only a few weeks and already he’s found time to stop running around shouting ‘Forza Inter!’ to complain about his time at Arsenal.

Spending more and more time on the bench as his time at the club wore on, he doesn’t seem able to appreciate that it was his own performances, goals aside, that meant he found himself pushed towards the fringes the longer he was at the club.

Speaking to the media in Italy, the German international said

It’s not a problem for me, being on the bench, but at Arsenal it happened too often.

I scored two goals in the Champions League, then I was left out. I didn’t like it. Fortunately the call came from Mancini.

Inter remain one of the biggest clubs in the world, after all, if you haven’t won something for five years you’re hardly talking about prehistoric times.

Asked if he thought he would return to Arsenal, which seems highly unlikely, Poldi replied

Will I stay beyond my loan? It’s not something that concerns me, I just want to play. I don’t like making proclamations, for now I’m very happy.

I’ve found Serie A very special, if I summed it up in two words it would be tactical and defensive.

The Premier League remains my favourite League because dynamism and teams fight until the end.

Accused of being a Juve supporter, Podolski said

I always admired [Edgar] Davids, [Zinedine] Zidane and [Alessandro] Del Piero.

But I always supported Cologne first and foremost, and then Barcelona.

#OnceAGunner, eh Lukas?