Arsenal v FC Koln : Giroud and Podolski key to Wenger’s Premiership title ambitions as well as Golden Boot
After a more than eventful summer, Arsenal complete their pre-season schedule this weekend when they take on FC Koln on Sunday afternoon, as Victor Chandler report free bets and plenty of interest in their Premiership top goalscorer markets, of which Arsenal trio Robin Van Persie, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski all feature prominently.
Much of Arsenal’s close season has been dominated by the future of Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman made it clear he wouldn’t be signing a new deal and this lead to speculation he could join Manchester City, Manchester United or Juventus, which has seen the pressure mount on new Arsenal strikers Giroud and Podolski to perform.
However, as it stands, he is still an Arsenal player and could be by the time the season starts. Where he will be playing his football next season hasn’t become any clearer as the weeks have gone by.
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The Van Persie situation has detracted from the fact that Arsene Wenger has made some excellent signings this summer too. Lukas Podolski, Oliver Giroud and Santiago Cazorla have all been brought in and big things are expected of them.
For Arsenal, you get the feeling that a good start to the season is crucial. They need to be in the mix with the top teams straight away and cannot afford to be playing catch-up.
In pre-season so far, they have had a rather mixed time. They do have a couple of victories to their name, but a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City highlighted how much they need to improve by the time the season gets underway.
As for Koln, this is a good chance for them to test themselves against a good Arsenal side. They were relegated from the top flight in Germany last season and a positive performance this weekend could give them a boost ahead of a promotion push.
Their domestic season is already underway too, so fitness wise, they should be very sharp and look to challenge the Gunners. Therefore, it should be a very good workout for both sides.
This friendly gets underway from 4pm on Sunday afternoon.
