Lukas Podolski admits that he has regrets about leaving Bayern Munich to go back to Cologne in 2009.
The Arsenal striker originally moved from his hometown club to the Bavarian giants in 2006 but after struggling to breakthrough into the first team, returned three seasons later.
But Podolski, who faces up to his former club in the Champions League next week, admits that he rushed in to the decision and thinks he could still be at Bayern Munich today had he stuck it out longer at the Allianz Arena.
He told Bild: "I believe that if Jupp Heynckes had arrived one or two weeks earlier in 2009, I would probably still be at Bayern now.
"He was desperate to keep me. From a purely sporting perspective, returning to Cologne was certainly not helpful."
The German forward was eventually relegated with Cologne in the 2011/12 season despite scoring 18 goals. That relegation opened the door for Arsenal to sign him.
Echoing his time at Bayern, Podolski has again struggled to establish himself in Arsene Wenger's first team plans and was subsequently linked with a return to the Bundesliga.
However, the 28-year-old insists that the rumours were untrue and spoke to Wenger to confirm just as much.
"That was a myth," he continued.
"There was absolutely no truth in it. The coach told me as such, and I knew there was no truth in it."
Podolski scored in the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich last year and will be hoping to do the same when they visit the Emirates next week.
Title : sports - Arsenal star Lukas Podolski regrets leaving Bayern Munich
Description : Lukas Podolski admits that he has regrets about leaving Bayern Munich to go back to Cologne in 2009. The Arsenal striker originally moved fr...