The north London club were expected to announce the signing this week but the German side requested it be postponed after suffering a 6-1 Bundesliga loss to Dortmund last weekend
Arsenal have been asked to delay the announcement of the £10.9m signing of Lukas Podolski from Bundesliga side Koln as there are fears over a supporter backlash. Standard Sport reports the German international has agreed terms on a contract, believed to worth around £100,000 per week, but Arsenal are prepared to postpone the announcement until a more suitable time.
Koln suffered a 6-1 hammering at the hands of league leaders Borussia Dortmund last week and are worried about further riling supporters with the news.
The German club are also reportedly interested in having a 'departure conference' for Podolski so that he can officially say goodbye to the club he began his career at.
Arsene Wenger has remained coy on the transfer, stating last week that “it could happen sooner, it could happen later”.
However, according to Standard Sport, it will be announced at the conclusion of the German season as Koln continue to battle for survival.
Former Germany goalkeeper Toni Schumacher has also confirmed to Express.de that Podolski is indeed leaving.
“Yes, Luke [Podolski] is leaving us,” he confirmed.
“This is unfortunate, but too late to change. Our task will be to assist the youth to breed a new Podolski.
“We have to do it, to create more youth players to jump into the first team”
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