On the 31st August 2016, Arsenal announced that Serge Gnabry had left the club on a permanent deal for Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for a reported fee of £5 million.
Gnabry, who was 21 at the time, was seen as one of the brightest prospects in north London and looked destined for first-team football in the 2016/17 season, however, it wasn’t a guarantee, and in order for guaranteed minutes, the German winger made the move to Germany.
@AllAboutTheAFC good luck Serg, we will buy you back for £100mil
— Ivan Todorinov (@Slokara) 31 August 2016
Good luck Gnabry! Hope you reach your full potencial. You’ll be unbelievable.
— Luis Filipe Correia (@Filipino157) 31 August 2016
Why did we sell Gnabry for peanuts?
— Paddy (@PaddyArsenal) September 18, 2016
I wish we kept Campbell and Gnabry…
Ahead of Walcott and Oxlade
— God's own (@t0sinadeda) September 20, 2016
We Let Joel Go
We Let Gnabry Go
We Let Jack GoBUT WE KEEP SANOGO @Arsenal Logic……?
— GD (@__BGD9) August 31, 2016
More upset about Gnabry leaving Arsenal than I am Wilshere, the guys so good 🙁
— Irfan Damani (@DamaniIrfan) August 31, 2016
It will go on to be one of the biggest mistakes Arsene Wenger made as Arsenal manager. The attacker went on to flourish at Bremen in his first full season of professional football, so much so that a year later Gnabry was snapped up by Bayern Munich for a reported fee of £7 million.
A successful loan spell at Hoffenheim where the youngster scored 10 goals and assisted seven in 22 Bundesliga matches convinced the Bayern hierarchy that the German winger was suited for first-team football with the Bavarian club, and this season Gnabry has been a regular starter for Niko Kovac’s side.
This campaign Gnabry has featured 22 times for the German giants, scoring seven times and assisting another five as Bayern look to make seven consecutive Bundesliga titles in a row.
Gnabry has also been impressive on the international stage, scoring five goals in six games for Germany as Joachim Low aims to take Die Mannschaft back into the elite of world football following a disastrous 2018 World Cup.
Arsenal fans have only had to sit back and ponder how Gnabry was able to slip through their fingers and become the superstar he has become today. The 23-year-old is now valued at over £40 million on Transfermarkt, and is seen at Bayern as the long-term successor to Arjen Robben at the club.
Meanwhile, for the Gunners, their search for an established first-team winger continues into the summer transfer window where Unai Emery will be thinking why didn’t Wenger give Gnabry the chance he so clearly needed to become a Premier League star.
