A former Arsenal star bid a teary adieu to his 21-year playing career after the final whistle on a testimonial match at his boyhood club.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a trophy-stuffed two decades featuring at a host of top clubs including the Premier League big beasts, winning the Bundesliga, FA Cup, and 2014 World Cup with Germany ten years ago.
Emotions ran high when Lukas Podolski returned to Cologne on Thursday evening, whose youth ranks he had joined in 2003, and where he made 81 appearances before making his first big move to Bayern Munich.