'I was very sad' - Wenger laments losing Gnabry for Arsenal

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confessed that losing Serge Gnabry left him ‘very sad’ as the German now shines at Bayern Munich.

Gnabry, who joined the Arsenal academy from Stuttgart in 2011, struggled to win over Wenger during his time in north London. He made just 18 first-team appearances in total.

The German later endured a disappointing loan spell at West Brom in 2015 before joining Werder Bremen on a permanent deal one year later.

But Bayern Munich noticed his potential and signed him up in 2017 for just €8m. After one season away on loan at Hoffenheim, Gnabry has now become an indispensable member of the Bavarians.

Wednesday’s brace against Lyon in the club’s 3-0 semi-final win in the Champions League proved it.

While Gnabry barely touched the ball before he scored in the 18th-minute, he really took off afterwards. The winger launched counter-attacks and even started the movement that led to his second goal, earning praise from Wenger in the process.

“Let’s not forget Gnabry, I bought him at the age of 15 from Stuttgart and he was injured a lot,” the Frenchman told beIN Sports.

“He’s creative, he can score goals, right-footed, left-footed, good power, good penetration, very, very clever with the timing of his runs.

"I knew that he would turn out great"

Arsene Wenger looks back on Serge Gnabry's time at @Arsenal.

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“His tendency was a bit too easy, like I’ve told you about with these young talented players, but he has matured a lot and is now one of the dominant players in Germany.”

Wenger then revealed how Gnabry slipped through his grasp after a difficult time with West Brom and injury woes.

“No, no, we had an agreement with him you know,” continued the ex-Arsenal manager.

“I had given him out on loan to West Brom, and he didn’t play a game. He came back, he was injured. We worked very hard with him for six months and he went out with the German national team, Under-21’s, and Bayern made a deal with Werder Bremen.

“He wanted to sign in the end, didn’t want to extend his contract (with Arsenal) and I was very sad. But we couldn’t get over the line with him because I knew he would have a great career.

“He can be a number nine, a number 10…he’s a very intelligent player.”