Reports: Inter Milan to loan Lukas Podolski from Arsenal

Inter director Pietro Ausilio had a lunch meeting in London on Saturday at which he discussed the possibility of a transfer.

Sportitalia say Arsenal and Podolski have agreed in principle to a loan deal for the rest of the season, and are increasingly open to giving Inter an option to buy the German striker for €6m (£4.7m).

Podolski, who was part of Germany's World Cup-winning squad, has barely featured for Arsenal this season, falling behind Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Yaya Sanogo in Arsene Wenger's pecking order of strikers.

OUR VIEW: Wenger brushed off talk of a deal on Friday, but it would seem to make sense for all parties. Podolski has been on the sidelines so long it seems implausible that he could reclaim a major part in Wenger's plans. A loan allows Arsenal to get the striker off their wage bill and gives the player a long-awaited chance to play some football. As for the €6m option to buy? It looks like a bargain when you consider Podolski's pedigree, but Wenger is clearly in no position to drive a hard bargain given how obviously he doesn't rate the German.