Arsenal: Serge Gnabry tale an educational one

On Tuesday night, Serge Gnabry scored four goals against Spurs as he proved himself to be one of the best players in the world. The tale of the former Arsenal prospect is an educational one for both the club and those that follow.

On Auhust 7th, 2015, Serge Gnabry was sent out on loan to West Bromwich Albion. The subsequent story of then West Brom manager Tony Pulis refusing to play Gnabry because he believed that he was not Premier League quality is now infamous. With every ground-breaking performance, the old Pulis-humiliating tale is regaled.

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A little over four years later, now at Bayern Munich and in a position to establish himself as one of the best players in the world, Gnabry dismantled Tottenham Hotspur in a Champions League group-stage game, scoring four goals in a 7-2 victory for Bayern Munich and earning a 10/10 rating from L’Equipe, only the tenth player in history to ever be rated so highly. And like clockwork, the Pulis tale again surfaced through the social media.

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Gnabry’s time at West Brom, his development in the Arsenal ranks, and his subsequent explosion in German football, first at Werder Bremen and now with Bayern, is an educational tale for those that are now attempting to develop young players and the very young players that are being developed.

Perhaps the most important lesson to learn is patience. Gnabry’s half-season at West Brom — it was only a half-season because he was recalled by Arsenal in January amid concerns that he was not being handed enough game time — came in his age-20 season (he turned 20 in July, a month before he moved to the Baggies).

The next summer, at 21, he moved to Werder Bremen. It was here that he began to become a regular starter, making 27 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 11 goals. He then moved to Bayern Munich at age 22 but was immediately loaned out again, this time to Hoffenheim. He would make 22 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 10 goals. His first campaign as a first-team Bayern Munich player did not come until he was 23, in which he was named their Player of the Season.

This season, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka, two players very similar to Gnabry in position, style and potential, are beginning to break into the Arsenal first-team picture. They have both made three starts in all competitions so far this year. Nelson will not turn 20 until this winter. Saka is still only 18. They are both younger than Gnabry when the German moved to West Brom. There is a long way to go.

The other crucial lesson to learn, however, is the importance of opportunity and smartly managed contracts. Gnabry left Arsenal for a cut-price deal in 2016 because he had just one year remaining on his deal and was refusing to sign a new one. Arsene Wenger wanted to keep him but was forced to sell.

But the reason why Gnabry was running down his deal was that he felt he was not being handed the first-team opportunities that he deserved. He was right. Arsenal did not provide Gnabry with the playing time that his development required. Had he stayed in north London rather than moving back to Germany, there is no guarantee that he would now be the player that he is.

And so, Gnabry’s curious tale is one that Arsenal and young players alike must learn from. Developing talent is not an easy ride and there is lots that can go wrong. And Gnabry is proof of that. Let’s hope, then, that Unai Emery, the club, and Saka, Nelson and other young talents, can learn from the Gnabry mistakes.