Van Persie recalls 'world-class' Gnabry's early days at Arsenal

Serge Gnabry showed promise from a young age at Arsenal and has since developed into a ‘world-class’ talent, says Robin van Persie.

Gnabry joined the Arsenal academy in 2011 as a 16-year-old from Stuttgart. He quickly showed flashes of the raw potential inside him, but never got a decent run of games with the first-team.

A disastrous loan spell with West Brom followed in the 2015/16 campaign. It was so bad, in fact, that manager Tony Pulis sent him back as he ‘wasn’t at our level’. The winger later joined Werder Bremen on a permanent deal before Bayern Munich snapped him up in 2017 for €8m.

An impressive loan spell at Hoffenheim before Gnabry broke into Bayern’s first-team in 2018. He’s since become vital for the Bavarians, scoring seven goals in this season’s Champions League.

The Germany international was also on target in the club’s 8-2 thrashing of Barcelona last week in the quarter-finals.

“He was still very young, he was about 15, 16,” Van Persie told BT Sport on Gnabry’s time as a youngster at Arsenal.

“I was around 24 I reckon. He was coming through, you could see he had all the stuff you need to be a top player but he was still very young.

“He was fast, playing with confidence, but I don’t think we played together in the first team. He was in the youth teams and reserves. Quite shortly after he went on loan to West Brom.

“Unbelievable that he struggled so much at West Bromwich Albion and now he’s a world-class player.

“He’s a joy to watch. He’s fast and he can dribble, he has vision, awareness, he scores great goals.

“The one he took on the volley against Barca I really liked. He’s respecting every chance he gets.”