Schalke have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Koln striker Lukas Podolski as they look for a long term replacement for veteran forward Raul according to talkSPORT.
Arsene Wenger had recently sent scouts to watch the in-form German striker who has scored 11 goals in 13 league games so far this season. Wenger’s need to add a striker to the squad is evident as Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young can’t find any sort of form and Niclas Bendtner is happy on loan at Sunderland.
Robin Van Persie has been the main man this season at the Emirates but the Gunners will not be able to rely on him throughout the second half of the season and will look for a January deal for Podolski.
Podolski is set to leave Koln in January but he has confirmed that he has not yet spoken to Arsenal and that there are other interested parties. The Polish born striker has scored 43 goals for Germany and will look to continue that at Euro 2012 but should be playing for a different club before that tournament comes around.
Raul’s contract expires next summer and it is widely expected that this could be his last season playing in Europe. Arsenal may have to outbid their German rivals for the striker’s signature but Wenger is definitely interested and a deal could be confirmed sooner rather than later.
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