Arsenal Must Pull Plug On Serge Gnabry Loan

Remember that time Serge Gnabry was not good enough for West Brom? It’s time for Arsenal to pull him back to cope with their injury fiasco at home.

I spoke rather adamantly about Tony Pulis, West Brom and the Serge Gnabry loan situation not long ago. However, the Baggies beat us, so I will shut up with the low-balling. What I will not shut up about is how Arsenal are desperate for attackers at the moment and Serge Gnabry is still wasting away in the Baggies basement.

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With Arsenal missing Alexis Sanchez for a bit and with Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott still waiting to get acclimated when they eventually do return, Arsenal can use an added, potentially prolific set of feet on the front lines.

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The counterpoint to all of this is pretty simple. Arsenal will be hit with a mass of returns and potential signings in January. And that counterpoint has plenty of validity. But when the FA Cup starts up, Arsenal is going to need quality that can rotate in and out with the regular squad. They have been lacking that for quite some time. Serge Gnabry can provide it.

I am digging under every possible rock looking for solutions to Arsenal’s depth problem and this was one of the easiest ones to dig up. While recalling Hayden would seem preemptive and foolhardy, recalling Gnabry would make complete sense. He is not doing anything at West Brom. Sure, it would strengthen his character to fight his way back into the first team at West Brom, but character can be developed when trying to pull together Arsenal’s potentially shambolic season.

What I am hung up on is the fact that we have seen Serge Gnabry perform very well in the Arsenal first team. He was right on pace with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. And yet, while Arsenal scrounge together a starting eleven out of scraps, Serge Gnabry is still hanging out with the reserves on another team. Did he do something to deserves what looks to be a punishment? It is hard to understand.

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As it stands, the extent of Alexis Sanchez’s injury is unknown, but speculation has it between December and January. Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla will not be relevant again until February or March. That moves Aaron Ramsey to center midfield. By that token, only Joel Campbell and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain as wide attackers. Not exactly a good situation for Arsenal to be in. Theo Walcott is returning and he has played wide too, but as is, he is a striker.

Serge Gnabry would be an excellent, virtually free addition for Arsenal. It’s a wonder why it has not happened yet.