Schnerres said:Can someone give me a short resume on Serge Gnabry´s season/future?
I checked his season biography on arsenal.com and it basically said he was out for the entire season due to injury.
What kind of injuries had he? Does he have a realistic chance for 1st team action in next season? What is his best position (it homepage says he "can play anywhere in the front three")?
Thanks!
Gnabry has been a real mystery all season. He broke through into the first team last year and put in some promising performances, although it was mainly due to a severe injury crisis (especially with our wide players) that he got into the important games. At the beginning of this year (in August), Wenger announced that he was injured but was coming along and would be back in training in a month or two, at some point in October he reportedly go back into training, then he seemed to be injured again although Wenger was always very vague about what was happening and whether it was even the same injury (a knee gets mentioned but nothing more specific). At some point, the media just sort of forgot about him and stopped asking questions about him. Now he has missed the entire year although about a month ago Wenger said he was close to coming back.
I don't think he will play meaningful minutes in the first team next season as he is still young (19), has just lost an entire year, and there are many other players ahead of him on the wing (Sanchez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck if played there, Ramsey if played there, Wilshere if played there, Walcott if he stays), which is his best position. A loan, perhaps to another Premier League team but also maybe to a German club, seems like the best situation for him. He has good quickness and impressive strength on the ball. Control and technique are decent enough but I've never been amazed by his dribbles or close control of the ball. I never saw him play center forward and sort of doubt that he has the finishing and goal scoring instincts to thrive there. Overall, he seems to have the potential to be a good all-around winger that contributes offensively (although not a star goalscorer or goal creator) but also tracks back, fights on defense, and helps with the build up game. But he needs consistent playing time and I doubt he will get it at Arsenal next year.
Late edit: It appears that he has actually been playing with the U21s for about a month and actually had a goal and two assists today against Wolves. I don't think that changes his prospects for next season though.