Arsenal have just let a man of 125 caps for Germany and 48 international goals leave for only £1.8m, plus add ons, to join Galatasaray, but there is no big surprise about Lukas Podolski's departure.

However, it should be a big, big shock. The German, best known for a powerful left foot, great technique and his ability to probe in attacks from the left or up front, has been a top forward for many years, yet he never really cut the mustard at the Emirates Stadium when he really should have.

In his first season, 2012/13, Podolski was a regular player for Arsene Wenger's side, he featured in 33 Premier League games, scoring 11 goals in all competitions. However, in his next campaign the ex-Bayern Munich man played just 20 matches and scored eight goals for Arsenal, while his final term was poorer still, with three in 13.

A drop off every season to the point where Podolski went from a regular first-teamer to nothing more than a bit-part player for the Gunners is a fate such a star really should not have suffered.

Podolski did score some belters for Arsenal and won the FA Cup in his time in North London, and maybe the German will reflect on his spell in England as a success considering he got his hands on silverware - more than many Arsenal players have in recent times - but really he was not key to the glory and was merely a back-up/squad player.

He could have done more and could certainly have played more, and it is true his talents were wasted somewhat, not only by Wenger and Arsenal, but by Podolski himself to an extent, too.

The German should have been given more match time with the Gunners to show what he could do - his record of 31 goals in 82 games isn't bad for a player who was peripheral for two seasons. He has a cracking left foot and finishes well, and given opportunities in front of goal he would surely have taken them, however they were few and far between at times.

Another area where Podolski was wasted somewhat was that he was rarely given chances to play in the middle, instead he was used too deep and often too wide on the left to really influence the game with his ability.

As Podolski is not exactly a creative player - he is decent creatively, however it is not his strength - he is better suited to playing at the top end of the field, getting on the end of chances and being the man putting them away - he couldn't do that effectively from such a deep position.

He was wasted by Arsenal somewhat, but Podolski should take some responsibility as he will know himself he was capable of more.