Cologne agree to Arsenal`s offer for Podolski

London: German football club Cologne have accepted English club Arsenal`s 10.8 million pound bid for their striker Lukas Podolski.

Podolski is now due at Emirates Stadium once the Bundesliga season ends and will sign a four-year deal worth over 100,000 pound a week. Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker admitted Wednesday that he had been quizzed by his international team-mate about life at the London club. "He has been very interested for the past few weeks," the Arsenal centre-back was quoted as saying by Daily Mail. "He has sent me a number of text messages, and I have told him this is a great place to work and Arsenal are an amazing club." Polish-born Podolski is in his second spell at Cologne, after pl;aying for three years with German giants Bayern Munich. He has netted an impressive 16 times in Bundesliga this season. IANS