Podolski: No Gunners move agreed

Cologne forward Lukas Podolski says he has not yet agreed a move to Arsenal despite reports suggesting a deal has been done.

The Germany international still has a contract with Cologne until 2013 and, although it is looking increasingly unlikely that he will be at the Bundesliga club next season, he says no deal for him to leave the club has yet been struck.

“We’ll just have to wait and see, but nothing has been decided yet,” he said.

“Every day people are repeatedly announcing the deal, or wanting to be the first to confirm it exclusively, but if there is anything to say, then I will be the first to do so.”

Even the Cologne fans have accepted that Podolski will no longer be in their team next season and yesterday’s game with Hertha Berlin was seen as the first of Podolski’s last 11 games with them.

However, he will miss at least one of his club’s 10 remaining fixtures after suffering a red card which he disputed strongly.

“I have seen the incident again in the dressing room and I think everybody has seen that it was not a red card,” he told Sky television.

“I don’t know what he (the referee) saw. I remained calm and freed myself from my opponent.

“I asked the referee afterwards why he had shown me the red card and he said that I had grabbed my opponent by the neck. I think he must be the only person with that opinion, but I just have to accept it.”