Per Mertesacker admits he urged Lukas Podolski to join him at Arsenal.

The FC Cologne attacker will move to the Gunners at the end of the season.

Mertesacker encouraged Podolski to join Arsenal and feels his Germany team-mate will fit right in.

"I spoke to him several times and gave good references to this club. He will enjoy his time here," Mertesacker said.

"Some things are different in Germany to this club, especially here at the training ground. You have no press, no supporters around here and you can concentrate on training.

"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.

"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."