Arsenal: Serge Gnabry transfer shows Arsene Wenger shine is diminishing

Serge Gnabry has signed for Bayern Munich just a year after leaving Arsenal. His departure, and subsequent move, shows Arsene Wenger’s shine is diminishing.

When Serge Gnabry left Arsenal last summer, joining Werder Bremen in a disappointing move after a scintillating Olympics with the German under-23 squad, there was little that Arsene Wenger and the club could do about it. Gnabry wanted to leave, his contract was winding down, and in a last-ditch effort to recoup some value on his talents, the decision was taken to sell him.

Related Story: Arsene Wenger's Best Starting XI

That is a sensible choice. But it is one that they were forced into. However, should it have been? Gnabry, as a clearly talented, young player with a number of natural abilities, technical, mental and physical, is the type of player that Wenger would attract simply because of his past work. And yet, Gnabry wanted to leave.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

Gnabry believed that his career would be better served if he were to depart from the tutelage of Wenger, a man who has been renowned for his wisdom in developing and grooming young players, and return to Germany, with a club that he had no experience with under a manager who he had no relationship with.

Fast forward a year, and Gnabry is now moving on once again. This time, to Bayern Munich. The German Giants exercised a release clause in his contract and officially announced the signing on Sunday. It is a clever, astute addition. They are a squad bursting with top-class talent at every position. They do not need to improve their starting XI all that much. But adding young players who have the potential to develop is a wise, low-risk, high-reward strategy that can pay dividends in the future.

It is also a move that indicates that Wenger’s shine is diminishing. It used to be the case that players would actively search out a move to Arsenal simply because of the ‘Wenger factor’; he was seen as the perfect manager to learn your craft under, receiving his wisdom and his coaching under his guidance.

But Gnabry’s career path thus far suggests that that is no longer the case. It suggests that, while still respected, Wenger is no longer seen as the godfather of player development. He is simply just another coach.

Next: Arsenal: 3 ramifications if Alexis Sanchez joins Manchester City

That begs the question as to what his selling point is as a manager. Wenger has long been championed as a player developer, an acquirer and honer of talent. But if Gnabry does not trust his input, how many others see him as the same? Perhaps Wenger is losing, or may even have lost, his touch.