Lukas Podolski hasn’t given up hope of reviving his Arsenal career as he prepares to return to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

The striker complained of a lack of action earlier in the campaign and was then loaned out to Inter Milan in January, having made just seven Premier League appearances prior to his move to Italy.

It seemed as if the Germany international’s stay with the north London club was coming to a close when he departed for Milan but Podolski hopes he will get another chance with the Gunners.

“I think I’ll have the opportunity of playing as a starter when I go back to Arsenal,” Podolski is quoted as saying by Football Italia.

“I still have one year in my contract, so we’ll see what happens. At Arsenal I lived two beautiful seasons, scoring many goals and producing many assists.

“This year things didn’t go as well and for this reason I decided to change teams, but now I feel ready.”

It remains to be seen as to whether Podolski will be retained by Arsenal, who have been installed as the 1.33 favourites to retain the FA Cup, over the summer but if he is to move on it seems unlikely he will join the Nerazzurri on a permanent basis.

The 29-year-old has managed just one goal during his spell in Serie A and has been unable to command a regular starting place under Roberto Mancini, although he did come off the bench to set up Mauro Icardi’s winner against Roma on Saturday.