Germany striker Lukas Podolski has dismissed speculation that he is looking to retire from international football. The 29-year-old striker has been in and out of the international team due to the presence of players like Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller ahead of him in the pecking order. Podolski has also been struggling for gametime at club level with Arsenal recently signing Danny Welbeck to act as the backup for Olivier Giroud. This puts Podolski as the third choice striker at the club, but the former Bayern Munich continues to have a great record at international level.
After having made his debut for Germany in 2004, Podolski has appeared in 118 matches and scored 47 goals. This goal record is extremely impressive considering that he has been used as a substitute in most of them. Germany recently saw a number of their top players like Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, and Per Mertesacker announce their retirements. Their reasoning was that they could not go out of international football in a much better position after having recently won the World Cup. Podolski says that he is not the kind of person to turn his back towards the national team at any stage.
Even though he has been linked with a move away from Arsenal, Podolski says that he will continue to make himself available for Germany. “I’m still as hungry as ever. My next big goal is the European Championship. I still enjoy playing for Germany and it’s a pleasure to be part of it all. I don’t need to be afraid of anybody in the national team. And I’m not here just because I’m the joker Podolski who raises everybody’s spirits. I’m here because I deserve to be here. I’m part of this team and I will get my games,” said Podolski.