Arsenal players told Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry to make Gunners transfer decision
Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry, now one of Europe's finest wide forwards, was on the books of Arsenal four years ago before returning to the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry was told to leave Arsenal by several of his former team-mates, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague. The 24-year-old is in the form of his career this term having scored four away at Tottenham in the Champions League group stages and adding two at Chelsea in the first leg of Bayern’s last 16 clash with the Blues.
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Arsenal players told Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry to make Gunners transfer decision (Image: GETTY)
“Perhaps Arsenal, if they thought that there was potentially a top player there or one that they could be interested in in the future, they could have put a clause to get some money of future transfers, but that is all with the help of hindsight.”
Gnabry spent five years of his career with the Gunners, moving to England at the age of 16 from Stuttgart in 2011 and eventually making his debut for the senior side in October 2012.
He made 14 first-team appearances in 2013-14 as he looked to break into the side under Arsene Wenger, only for a serious knee injury to disrupt his progress the following season.
The attacker spent the 2015-16 campaign on loan at West Brom, where Tony Pulis said: “Serge has come here to play games but he just hasn’t been for me, at the moment, at that level to play the games.”
He would make just three appearances for the Baggies before being recalled in January and couldn’t force his way back into the Arsenal picture back at the Emirates.
Gnabry is now one of the hottest properties on the continent out wide and in addition to his formidable record for Bayern, has 13 goals in 13 caps for Germany, with it almost certain he will be in the Die Mannschaft squad for the Euros this summer.
Arsenal players told Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry to make Gunners transfer decision (Image: GETTY)
While Wenger wanted to pen Gnabry to a new contract before his Bundesliga switch, the Frenchman recently opened up on why he felt his former protege didn’t succeed at Arsenal.
Wenger was on the beIN SPORTS panel as a pundit to watch his former forward score twice in a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge as Bayern put one foot into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Wenger said: This guy, he has no real limitations – it’s more how much does he want to suffer. Because he has pace, power, technical ability – he’s very intelligent.
“Sometimes he looks for the easy way in football. That’s what was his problem. He lacked a bit.
“He’s a good player, he needs good players of course, like everybody, but he has individual ability and collective ability.
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Arsenal players told Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry to make Gunners transfer decision (Image: GETTY)
“We had an agreement with him but because he didn’t play at West Brom I let him go with the Under-21s in the summer with the German national team.
“He did very well of course, he was fresh. We had prepared him for us to sign his new contract but then suddenly he wanted to go to Werder Bremen.
“In fairness I think we had an agreement with him but Bayern stole him away from Werder Bremen.
“It was not Werder Bremen that bought him, it was Munich that bought him.
“Because six months later or less than one year later he moved from Bremen to Bayern, but it was a done deal before.”