Galatasaray forward Lukas Podolski said he needed to leave Arsenal to give himself a chance of playing for Germany at Euro 2016.
Germany boss Joachim Low had told Podolski, who completed a move to the Turkish club on Saturday, that he would significantly hinder his chances of selection next summer if he spent the season on the bench.
Podolski, who has 125 caps for Germany and was part of last year's World Cup-winning squad, told Sport Bild: "After talking openly to Arsene Wenger, I came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to make a move."
He said he considered Low's request that he make 30 to 40 appearances to be a "legitimate demand" and added: "I would ask for the same if I was in his position.
"Every player that wants to play at Euro 2016 needs to play. We would surely not be world champions if we had started the tournament with 20 players that don't get to play regularly at their club."
The 30-year-old, who had a disappointing loan spell at Inter Milan last season, said he had still expected to be an Arsenal player at this stage.
"I honestly thought that I would start team training at Arsenal on July 10 but within a few days things started to move very quickly," he said. "It was no disadvantage that I was on holiday in Turkey anyway so I could be at Istanbul to sign the contract within 45 minutes."
Nonetheless, he said "the whole package fits" for him at Galatasaray and is looking forward to linking up with Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder.
"The Turkish league is not on the same level as the Premier League or Bundesliga, but Galatasaray are Champions League regulars and have stars with a worldwide reputation like Wesley Snijder in the squad.
"Istanbul is a metropolis and Galatasaray has a very good name in world football."
Galatasaray made public that Podolski will earn €3 million a year as well as receiving an appearance bonus of €20,000. "There are no big secrets about wages anymore and by making it public you avoid all the speculation," the player said.
Podolski is aware that it may be the last big contract of his career at Galatasaray and, while he still hopes to return to former club Cologne, he said: "When I fulfil my contract at Galatasaray, I will be 34. Every career has to end sometime."