German International Hails Compatriot's Arsenal Switch

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker believes Lukas Podolski's arrival at the Emirates will provide a major boost for the club's title ambitions next season.

Podolski will join the Gunners in a £10.9m summer move from Cologne and Mertesacker, who has played alongside the forward for Germany, insists he has the temperament to thrive in England.

"He is very confident," Mertesacker told Arsenal Player. "I am happy that he is joining us here and I think he is very happy too. I spoke to him several times and gave good references to this club. He will enjoy his time here."

Podolski, who has scored 18 goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances this season, is set to feature with Mertesacker in Euro 2012 and the Arsenal defender remains adamant their new signing could fire Germany to success in Poland and Ukraine.

"It is very calm here and that is a good thing, especially for him because he is very famous in Germany and has played very well in the last big tournaments for them," added Mertesacker. "He is very popular and that can sometimes be dangerous because everybody is putting pressure on him.

"But here you can concentrate on yourself and on your team. This is a great place for him to develop his performances as a footballer and a person, like I have in the last year."

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie said earlier this month that he was delighted Podolski had chosen Arsenal over a number of other top European sides.

"Lukas will be joining the club next season and I'm really happy about that," van Persie is quoted in the Telegraph."He's been at the highest level for eight or nine years now, scoring lots of goals and consistently proving to be a really good player," said Van Persie.

"He has a really good left foot shot and can play in a couple of positions which is important for us as our game involves a lot of movement and interchanging."