• Premier League

Podolski: Higuain Arsenal arrival 'not a problem'

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski insists he is not concerned about his place in the team, despite increasing speculation Gonzalo Higuain is set to join the club from Real Madrid.

Podolski, 28, joined the Gunners last summer from Cologne in an £11 million transfer, and believes he has shown enough in that time to warrant inclusion in a bolstered attacking line-up.

"It is always good when good players come in," Podolski told the Sun. "I don't worry about a specific player. And it is certainly not a problem.

"I am strong enough and I have qualities. And when good players come in, I will play with good players.

"Every season players come in and players go. But I think it is good news if top players come in.

"The hope is that this season Arsenal will be at the top of the league. English football, thankfully, is not like Spain where you only have two teams - Barcelona and Real Madrid - who fight at the top. In the Premier League you have five, six, even seven top, top teams.

"It is very difficult but I know that Arsenal are one of those top teams who will be involved. You don't know how the season will work out. A few of the other teams all have new managers so it is difficult to say. But they will be strong and equally, Arsenal will be strong."

Podolski and his team-mates will depart for a tour of Asia on Thursday, and the Germany international hopes the sojourn signals the start of a successful season.

"This will be my first tour with Arsenal and I am really looking forward to it. I hope Arsenal can have a good pre-season and, hopefully, all of us can be injury free. It is good to have Jack Wilshere back but we need all our players to be available.

"Last season was a good season for me. I scored a lot of goals and made a lots of assists so I was happy.

"I came from a small team like Cologne so it was not easy but, hopefully, this year will be better," he explained.

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