Lukas Podolski believes Schalke will pose Arsenal the biggest problems yet in the Champions League, while Arsene Wenger has praised the professionalism that the German players have brought in to the Arsenal squad.
Podolski knows all about Schalke -- Arsenal's Champions League opponents at the Emirates Wednesday -- having played them several times during his tenure in the Bundesliga with FC Koln and Bayern Munich, and despite the Gunners being in a strong position with six points from two games, the German is wary of their opponent's threat.
"Schalke is a very strong team, the strongest we will face in the group stage," Podolski told the Official Matchday Programme.
"If we can win this game we will be very well placed. Schalke are a good team though, they are something special at home, with their fans behind them, so we will want the three points at home.
"I know their coach, Huub Stevens, very well because he coached me for a season when I was at Cologne. They will be tough to beat, but we must go for the three points."
Podolski, who incidentally also interested Schalke before he signed for Arsenal, has a good goalscoring record against the German club, and hopes to continue that run. "Yes, I have a good history with them," he added. "I think in each of the past two or three games I played against them I have scored, so I quite like playing against them.
"Hopefully I can do it again in the Champions League."
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger lauded the professionalism brought in by the German players - Podolski and Per Mertesacker - to the Gunners squad, with the Frenchman believing it will help them in prospering in the Champions League. "First of all, the Germans are usually very professional," he saod. "They have a very professional attitude. They are always ready to work hard.
"We had good experiences with the German players we had before and as well, they have a very strong team attitude usually.
"Those are qualities of course that are welcome at the top level. What has changed today in the game, is that you need to bring it all to a team. Your talent is not enough.
"I worked in Japan and Japanese players have similar attitudes. I'm not surprised that many Japanese players go now to Germany and that they are very well accepted there."
Wenger has been extremely impressed by Podolski's attitude and commitment ever since joining the Gunners this summer. "He has a very friendly attitude and works very hard," the manager said. "He's a team player and I think you can't lie to the crowd. He's very happy here. He's a good voice to have in the dressing room. He has been received well.
"He's ready for every game. He's played very well for us until Saturday. On Saturday he was a bit less effective, like the whole team. We are very happy with him. He works very hard for the team. He scores goals and makes goals.
"Tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a little more pressure on him but he's used to that. He's got 100 Germany caps so he can handle it."
