Serge Gnabry: Arsenal flop joins Bayern Munich… what did Carlo Ancelotti see in Germany U21 star that Arsene Wenger didn’t?
Football Whispers examines the situation that lead to his Emirates exit and resurgence into a move to Bavaria
IT IS fair to say Bayern Munich are not popular with Arsenal supporters.
A 10-2 Champions League exit last season was humiliating.
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The 21-year-old winger made just ten Premier League appearances for the Gunners, only five of which were starts.
Having failed to convince Arsene Wenger he was worth more minutes Gnabry joined Werder Bremen for £5m last summer.
But, after 11 Bundesliga goals from just 23 starts, he has been snapped up by Bayern in an €8m deal.
So how has a player deemed not good enough for Arsenal 12 months ago joined one of Europe’s biggest clubs?
We asked our friends at Football Whispers to examine the situation.
Few would have batted an eyelid when Gnabry completed his switch to Werder last summer.
After an unsuccessful and frustrating loan move to West Brom, where he made just one substitute outing in the Premier League, the suspicion was Gnabry was not up to it.
That was despite him hitting six goals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio as Germany’s Under-23s finished as silver medallists. Gnabry ended joint-top scorer for Die Mannschaft.
Gunners boss Wenger clearly felt Gnabry had a point to prove at the Emirates and was keen to offer his young charge a new deal.
"I want to keep Serge Gnabry and extend his contract," Wenger said ahead of Arsenal’s clash at Leicester City on the second weekend of the season.
"I think we stood by him. He went to West Brom on loan, didn't play, and we had to rebuild his confidence. I allowed him to go to the Olympics to help Germany. I think he's here now for a long time."
But the Stuttgart-born wideman joined Die Werderaner on August 30 in search of first-team football. He had a point to prove as he returned home. And he made it in some style.
Gnabry bagged four goals in the first nine games of the Bundesliga season, form which did not go unnoticed by Germany coach Joachim Low.
In November last year, Gnabry earned his first call-up to the national team for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
Pitched in for his debut from the start, Gnabry doubled Germany’s lead after nine minutes, bagged his second just before the hour and completed an unforgettable first appearance by rounding off his hat-trick with 14 minutes to play.
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Low was reserved in his praise for Gnabry – taking into account the quality of opposition Germany had been facing – but was pleased with the pacey attacker’s display.
“Serge has shown in training that he is very fast and in the final third is strong,” he explained.
“We said before the game that we want to let the opponent run a lot We want to play some youngsters, and it is of course good for the players to join us. Today one cannot overestimate all this, but it is also good for someone like Serge for the coming months.”
And Gnabry’s form went from strength-to-strength, finishing the season with 11 Bundesliga goals and helping Die Werderaner to eighth.
That was enough to convince Bayern to act prior to the Under-21 European Championships in Poland where Gnabry is part of Horst Hrubesch’s squad.
Despite boasting Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery, Kingsley Coman and – for now – Juventus transfer target Douglas Costa, Die Roten spent €8m to sign Gnabry on a three-year deal.
And Bayern’s urgency in completing the deal was immediately vindicated as Gnabry bagged the second in Germany’s opening fixture, a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic.
Even if Costa moves to Turin, Gnabry will have a fight on his hands to break into Carlo Ancelotti’s side next season.
Along with Coman he is seen as one for the future; a future which doesn’t include Robben and Ribery.
“We're really happy that we have signed another young, German international,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said when the deal was announced. “Serge has developed a lot in his time at Bremen.”
Arsenal fans, though, will not be so happy if Gnabry continues his current rate of progress. They could be left facing further embarrassment at the hands of Bayern.