0:41 Former West Brom boss Tony Pulis admits he is amazed to see Serge Gnabry – who he took on loan at the Baggies – performing so well for Bayern Munich after the German scored four in the 7-2 thrashing of Tottenham
Move to Werder Bremen
Gnabry returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2016 with an Olympic silver medal after becoming the tournament’s joint-top scorer at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
It was a further example of his potential and the Gunners got straight to work on a new deal for the youngster, with Wenger urging him to stay at the Emirates Stadium. But Gnabry needed a change.
“We didn’t want to get rid of Gnabry, we wanted to keep him,” Wenger said. “But he was in the last year of his contract. We were close to extending his contract but finally he changed his mind and went to Werder Bremen. But I think we taught him a lot and I think if you ask him he would agree with that.”
Gnabry moved back to Germany with Werder Bremen and it proved to be the right decision.
As a regular starter, Gnabry started to fulfil the promise Wenger had talked about for so long. He scored 11 goals in 27 league games for Alexander Nouri’s side, helping them to an eighth-placed finish in the Bundesliga.
His form helped earn him a Germany call-up from Joachim Low and he scored a hat-trick on his senior international debut against San Marino.
But it wasn’t just Germany that came calling. With interest from some of Germany’s top clubs building, Gnabry activated a clause in his contract which allowed him to leave Werder Bremen less than 12 months after he joined.
Bayern Munich wasted no time in securing his signature for just €8m (£7m), tying him down to a three-year deal at the Allianz Arena.
Fit and firing at Bayern
Gnabry’s career at Bayern did not start straight away, with the forward immediately sent out on a season-long loan to Hoffenheim to gain more first-team experience.
But unlike his time at West Brom, this loan spell was a huge success. He made 22 league appearances in the 2017/18 campaign, scoring 10 goals as Hoffenheim secured Champions League football for the first time in the club’s history with a third-placed finish.
He returned to Bayern in the summer of 2018 ready to deliver on the biggest stage.
“I wouldn’t be sat here if I wasn’t ready for the challenge,” Gnabry said speaking alongside the then-new head coach Niko Kovac at his first press conference as a Bayern player. “I think the best way to see what I can do is just by watching me. I really enjoyed the second half of the season with Hoffenheim because I played as much as possible. Now I’m ready to bring that feeling to Munich.”
And how right he was.
Gnabry’s career has flourished ever since. In his first season at the Allianz Arena he won his first Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Borussia Dortmund.
He finished the season as Bayern’s second top scorer with 10 goals in 30 matches behind Robert Lewandowski and continued to impress on the international stage with Germany. He now has 13 goals in 13 games for the national team.
The return to north London
And then there was the Champions League night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He showed everybody what English football was missing when he became only the second German to score four or more goals in a Champions League match (alongside former Bayern forward Mario Gomez) in a 7-2 hammering of Arsenal’s rivals.
Wenger knew though, didn’t he?
0:43 Former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry scored four goals as Bayern Munich beat Tottenham 7-2 in the Champions League, but his head coach Niko Kovac was more pleased with the player’s defending!
“He has technical ability, he has power, he has pace, he has finishing quality and he can give a final ball,” the Frenchman said describing Gnabry back in 2013.
On his first return to north London since leaving Arsenal, Gnabry had Wenger’s words ringing in his ears as he produced a display of scintillating speed, sublime skill and clinical finishing to score four second-half goals as Bayern hit seven past Spurs.
He received plaudit after plaudit for his performance, but the endorsement from former boss Pulis might have pleased him more than any other.
“He’s really fulfilled his potential,” he added. “You could knock me over with a feather. Having worked with him at West Brom and seeing him there – what he’s done is absolutely amazing. When people show what they can do and really knuckle down and become so good – as he’s done – it’s absolutely fantastic.”
Since that fine display in north London, Gnabry has kicked on again. There were two more goals in the capital when he and Bayern dismantled Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and with 23 goals in 45 appearances for Bayern in all competitions so far this season he has become a key figure at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
And on Sunday night, in the Champions League final, he could achieve something which few predicted when he couldn’t get a game at West Brom.
A version of this article first appeared on the Sky Sports website in October 2019.
Sourse: skysports.com
