Straight Talking Gooners understands that Arsenal have agreed a fee in the region of £11 millon for FC Koln striker Lukas Podolski, who will join the club at the beginning of the summer transfer window subject to a medical.

It was reported last week that Arsenal had agreed personal terms with Podolski (a 4-year contract thought to be somewhere in the region of £100,000 per week), but any deal was reliant on agreeing a transfer fee with his club.

Koln were reluctant to sell their striker, but were equally aware that they risked losing him on a free transfer when his contract expired in summer 2013.

This transfer follows months of speculation about the future of the German international, who was also heavily linked with moves to Liverpool and big-spenders Anzhi Makhachkala. However, it would seem that Arsène Wenger is preparing himself for a big summer in which he will significantly bolster the Arsenal squad and convince Robin van Persie that his future remains in North London;  Signing Podolski, an established striker at both club and international level, will surely help Wenger go one step further in helping to persuade the Dutchman that we can challenge for trophies next season.

Podolski is 26-years-old and has a good track record while playing for FC Koln, with 84 goals in 171 appearances for the club over two spells (from 2003-2006 & 2009-present). His reputation took a huge dent during three seasons playing for Bayern Munich, where he failed to really establish himself as one of the top strikers in Europe, but he seems to be back on track at Koln (with 16 goals in 22 games this season). However, Lukas is much more successful at international level, having scored more than 40 goals for Germany since he made his debut in 2004. Arsène Wenger will be hoping that he can replicate his international form at club level. For £11 million I think that he is an absolute bargain. The perfect player to partner RvP next season.