By Joe Brewin
Lukas Podolski was "proud" to don Arsenal's colours for the first time against former side Cologne on Sunday - and says he has felt at home at the Club since day one.
Podolski scored twice as the Gunners rounded off pre-season with a comfortable 4-0 victory at the RheinEnergieStadion.
The Germany international concedes scoring against his boyhood club was difficult but hopes his promising debut is just the beginning of a memorable career for Arsenal.
“I have felt like a part of Arsenal from the first day and I am very proud to play here and wear the shirt,” Podolski told Arsenal Player.
“I enjoyed it a lot. Before the game a lot of the players were surprised about the city and about the stadium. It was a great match and in my first game I scored two goals, so it was very good. It was a good test for us and I hope we can win against Sunderland next week.
“It was not so easy [to score against Cologne]. I played a lot of games for a lot of years in Cologne. They were my club when I was a young boy, so it is not easy to score two goals against your team.
“You see after the game that [the fans] still love me! I was very surprised about the Arsenal fans because there were a lot in the stadium. I heard them cry my name and I was very surprised!
“We have been having two sessions a day, now it is back to London, a day off and then we can start to concentrate on the game against Sunderland.”
Watch the full interview with Lukas on Arsenal Player now.
