Lukas Podolski scored twice on his debut for new J-League club, Vissel Kobe.

A perfect start

Podolski signed for Japanese side, Vissel Kobe, from Galatasaray in March for a reported $5m and got off to the perfect start by netting a brace on his debut against Omiya Ardija.

The forward, who scored 34 goals in 75 appearances while in Turkey, netted his first just after half-time from outside the box. It was a typical Poldi goal – a thunderous smack with his left boot.

His second was a neat header.

Vissel Kobe won 3-1 in the end, putting them in ninth with 29 points since the J-League started in February, 14 points ahead of their opposition, Omiya Ardija, and 12 points behind leaders Cerezo Osaka.

According to the Mirror, Podolski is the highest-profile player to move to the J-League since former Manchester United striker, Diego Forlan, signed for Cerezo Osaka in 2014.

Poldi scored 31 goals and assisted 17 in 82 appearances for Arsenal before joining Inter Milan for a season-long loan in 2015 and then signing for Galatasaray permanently.

Next see the goals!

Thunder-strike

Poldi’s hammer-foot is a thing of beauty and something we became well-acquainted with during his time at Arsenal.

In fact, he scored 17 out of his 19 Premier League goals for the Gunners with his left.

Next see Poldi’s second goal!

Head and shoulders above the rest

The 32-year-old’s second goal was a header, which is pretty unusual for the former Germany international.

Poldi only ever scored two league headers for Arsenal.

Next see Poldi’s reaction

Poldi’s reaction

Poldi took to social media following his team’s 3-1 victory. I mean, of course he did. The man has the best PR in the world.

The forward thanked his fans for their support and said he was glad to win, which is kind of a given.

https://twitter.com/Podolski10/status/891605564974743556

Joking aside, it just goes to show how prolific Poldi is. He’s 32 and still banging in goals like it’s second nature to him. While he’s lost what pace he did have and isn’t quite as fit as he once was, his eye for goal won’t ever go away.