Podolski admits he left Bayern Munich early

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski says he might still have been at Bayern Munich if former manager Jupp Heynckes had arrived a little early at the club. The 28 year old returned to his former club Koln in 2009 after making 71 league appearances for the club.

Koln were eventually relegated in 2012 but Podolski enjoyed a fine season scoring 18 league goals. This is what attracted Arsenal to sign the 28 year old.



The German international had this to say about the whole issue,



"I believe that if Jupp Heynckes had arrived one or two weeks earlier in 2009, I would probably still be at Bayern now," he told Germany's Sport Bild magazine.



"He was desperate to keep me. From a purely sporting perspective, returning to Cologne was certainly not very helpful."



Arsenal go head to head with Bayern in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League next week.