Arsenal Transfer News: Lukas Podolski Deal Agreed for £10.9M, Reports

Arsenal have agreed the transfer of German international Lukas Podolski for £10.9 million from Koln, according to the Daily Mail.

It had been reported last week that the forward had already agreed terms with Arsenal and now it appears that a fee between the two clubs has also been finalized, with the player set to arrive in the summer.

According to the Mail, Podolski will sign a four-year deal with over £100,000 a week.

Arsenal and Koln were initially some way apart in negotiations, while it also emerged over the last few days that a clause in the player's contract meant that Podolski could leave relegation-threatened Koln for a cut-price fee if the club dropped-down a division.

It would appear, though, that Arsenal have looked to finalize the deal early and avoid a possible bidding war for Podolski's services. It had also been rummored that both AC Milan and inter were interested in the 26-year-old.

Podolski, who has already amassed 43 goals for Germany in 95 appearances, had been linked to Arsenal during the recent January transfer window. At that time, however, Podolski said that he did not want to risk disruption by switching clubs ahead of Euro 2012.

The news will be a further boost to everyone connected with Arsenal after a recent good run of form. Although they failed to overturn a 4-0 deficit against Milan in the second-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, a 3-0 victory continued to raise hopes that Arsenal were on the up after a difficult campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would doubtless have been eager to do his transfer business for the summer early after their disastrous transfer window last year. On that occasion Arsenal lost star men Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri late in the window before having to make several late purchases as the transfer deadline ticked ever nearer.

Wenger will also hope that Podolski's signature presents a sign of his and the club's intent and will help to persuade captain Robin van Persie to sign a new deal at the Emirates.