Arsenal: Werder Bremen Rubbing Salt In Serge Gnabry Wound

Arsenal unwisely sold Serge Gnabry this summer for petty change and we are already having salt rubbed in that wound by his new club, Werder Bremen.

I don’t think I will ever come to terms with Arsenal deciding to sell Serge Gnabry. It happened so suddenly. He was looking solid in the one preseason appearance we saw him in, he stole the show at the Olympics and then he was gone. Another winger sold off without being given a chance all thanks to Wenger’s faith in his English wondertwins.

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It likely came down to a matter of guaranteed playing time, which he probably could not get promised to him by Wenger. When no promises were acquired, he was shipped out to his homeland, leaving Walcott and the Ox with another supreme chance to finally grasp the role that Wenger wanted them to have so badly.

Still, it rubs me the wrong way that, in the above scenario, Wenger was unable to offer Gnabry anything more than a reserve role or a loan. Mainly because we saw how talented he can be despite having a debilitating knee injury pop up right in the middle of his progression.

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Gnabry definitely had a bright future and it was a shame to see the way he broke through at the age of 18 be turned into said injury and then further into the nightmare loan to West Brom, where Tony Pulis pulled the ultimate ‘f you’ and gave Gnabry all of 12 minutes to prove himself.

After that, Gnabry returned to the Arsenal reserves and, surprise, he scored some more goals.

Then this summer happened. And now, he is at Werder Bremen.

Already head coach Viktor Skripnik has decided to remind us of what we lost by telling us that Gnabry is ‘the perfect player’. It’s salt in the wound at this point – a wound that probably won’t heal until either Walcott or the Ox amounts to something or Campbell is given a fair shot.

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Until that time comes to pass, I don’t think I will be alone in wondering if Gnabry couldn’t be doing a better job at the role than what we currently have. It remains a shock to me that Wenger wouldn’t want to give Gnabry all the chances in the world to prove that he, a mere 20 year old, can do more than Walcott, who is now 27. But maybe I’m crazy.