Arsenal: Serge Gnabry Continues To Twist The Knife

Serge Gnabry left Arsenal amid controversy last summer. With his performances for Werder Bremen this season, the winger continues to twist the knife.

The loss of talented players, especially talented players who have a future ahead of them, is never a happy time. Arsenal, being a club that prioritises the development of young players, often find themselves in a position where those players find themselves yearning for a departure.

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Arsene Wenger has seen many of his former starlets leave for pastures new, men that he has ploughed time, energy and effort into their early development. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie are prime examples of players who have left with their prime ahead of them.

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The latest player to do just that was Serge Gnabry. After a series of underwhelming loan spells at a variety of clubs allowed his contract to dwindle down to just a year remaining, the German winger decided that the Emirates was no longer the destination that he saw his career progressing most at.

As such, Wenger was forced into selling the talented winger, someone who broke onto the international scene with a sensational Olympics with the German under 23 side, and there were a host of clubs interested in his services. Significant rumours suggested that Bayern Munich would make a move but ultimately it was their German rivals, Werder Bremen, who finalised a deal.

In his first season, Gnabry is proving his quality and is twisting the knife. In 21 Bundesliga games for Bremen, Gnabry has scored 10 goals, created 30 chances and amassed one assist. That is successful production no matter the context. However, contrast that to Arsenal’s current spate of wingers, and they are even more impressive.

Theo Walcott has played 19 Premier League games, scoring eight goals, creating 11 chances and assisting twice. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored just twice, created 23 chances and recorded four assists in the 21 games while, in the same number of Premier League games, Alex Iwobi has scored three, assisted just three and created 24 chances.

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There have been reports that Gnabry may return to North London after a breakout season in the Bremen first team, and such rumours are certainly exciting given his form. The stats show that he is outperforming all of Arsenal’s primary wide assets and now his departure is even more painful.