The German came off the bench to score the Gunners' third
in a 3-1 come-from-behind win over West Ham, and his manager has praised his
mental strength after four months out.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Lukas Podolski
after his goalscoring return and feels the striker proved he can have a
"huge impact".
The 28-year-old striker had been absent since suffering a
hamstring injury against Fenerbahce in August, but came off the bench to net
his side's third goal on his comeback in the 3-1 triumph at West Ham on
Thursday.
And Wenger is thrilled to welcome the Germany
international back into his squad.
"Podolski made a huge
difference because we had good width and created many problems," he told
reporters.
"He's been out for four months and not played one
game.
"I tried to get him slowly back to competitiveness
and he's shown he can have a huge impact because he can score and make
assists."
Arsenal had fallen behind at Upton Park when Carlton Cole
capitalised an error by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Wenger introduced Podolski in an attempt to trigger a
response, a move the Frenchman conceded was a risk with an array of attacking
talent already on the pitch, potentially leaving the side vulnerable in
defence.
He added: "When you have [Podolski], Theo Walcott,
Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla on the pitch, you know you can
lose the ball and be vulnerable, but we had to go for it."
Arsenal's triumph came on the back of three Premier
League matches without a win and saw Wenger's leapfrog over the likes of
Liverpool into top spot.
The leaders now continue the club's title challenge with
a difficult trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Culled from Goal
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