The Asia tour has been a great
success so far. So let’s take a look at one of our youngsters who are involved
in Arsenal’s pre-season tour. No need to say that he is German, of course!
I’m
talking about Serge Gnabry. A player who a lot Arsenal fans have high hopes
for. Let’s have a look at his statistics first:
Date
of birth: 14 July,
1995
Height: 173 cm
Position: Midfielder
___________
Year Club
2012 Arsenal
Res./U-21
2012 Arsenal
2010–2011 Germany
U-16
2011–2012 Germany U-17
2012– Germany U-18
“The
next German Wunderkind” as many called him in recent years is a player
with huge potential who already set his mark in Germany’s youth teams. Unlike
many German youth players he left his home club Stuttgart at a very young age
to make the step over to the best league in the world. At that time Arsenal had
scouted Gnabry for years, since he was 14 to be precise. Nothing special these
days but for a young kid a massive honour.
Since
he left Stuttgart a lot has changed. Gnabry has had to adapt to life in London
which he has done quite quickly at such a young age. Football wise he made his
mark not only in Arsenal’s youth team (which was not a surprise) but also in their
first team. With his pace and technique Gnabry can play all over midfield and
in attack as well. His preferred position is on the right wing. Gnabry signed
professional terms at the start of last season and made his debut against Norwich
City. If that wasn’t enough, he was also part of Arsenal’s Champions League
squad where he made his debut against Schalke 04 in the 0-2 defeat at the
Emirates.
Based
on his fast rise to the top the end of last season was a bit depressing for the
young German. Injury problems stopped Gnabry from continuing his way into
Arsenal’s first team.
Many
German youth coaches are not convinced that he can make it at Arsenal and that
he has the same quality as players like Mario Gotze or Julian Draxler. In terms
of quality it’s, quite normal that a player like Gotze is at an advanced stage
as he has been a part of first-team football for years due to Borussia Dortmund’s
youth philosophy. And Draxler has the “local guy” bonus at Schalke
which made it easier for him to break into the first team (plus the lower team
quality overall).
Gnabry
hasn’t been named in Germany’s senior national team yet which is not surprising
as Joachim Low has a pool of talented youngsters to choose from. And playing in
midfield doesn’t make it easier for Gnabry. Overall, nothing to worry about in
my opinion as he will be in the focus as soon as he becomes a regular at
Arsenal.
The
first step has been made with Gnabry being named in the squad for this year’s
Asia tour. A call-up which was highly expected and totally deserved in my opinion.
Gnabry played 68 minutes in Arsenal’s first pre-season match against an
Indonisian Dream team last Sunday and had a good game. The trip to Asia will
bring him closer to the first team as it shows that he is part of Wenger’s
first team plans for next season. Training and pre-season preparation with the
first team will strengthen him in the long run.
Gnabry
has a long way to go but I’m sure he will master the task with summa cum laude.
He has the potential to do so. With everything in life his desire to succeed
will decide. But monitoring him for a while I’m sure he has enough of that. And
with Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker as his mentors, he has two experienced
players at his side who love to help in any situation professional or private.
The
future is bright….
Cheers
Chris Mader
Mad, Jens-like, thirty-something German. Waving the Arsenal flag in Münster, Germany. Red member. Visiting Arsenal matches for more than 10 years now. Still fussed EasyJet won’t get me free flights. Always down N5 with my dad. Worked in London for about half a year. Started my own German Arsenal blog about two years ago. Expert on Bundesliga issues. BVB my local club.
Yes he may be a future prospect for Arsenal but right now we need experience to bolster our squad to challenge for the league and other honors.