Friday, March 29, 2024

Report Card: Serge Gnabry

Age: 19
Nationality: German
Position: Winger
Squad no. 27
Height: 5ft 8

Interesting Fact: Gnabry nearly pursued athletics instead of football; such was his ability as a sprinter in his younger days.

Serge Gnabry joined Arsenal in 2011 and made his professional first team debut against Coventry City in our 6-1 League Cup win in 2012, coming on as a sub for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the second half of the game.

Although the young German was mainly deployed as an attacking midfielder in his youth days, Arsene Wenger has played the 19-year-old on his side’s flanks in each of his first team appearances. When positioned out wide, Gnabry is able to use his pace and trickery to trouble the opposing defenders, and he also helps stretch the play with his positioning and simple passing.

Serge has shown a lot of promise in his first few appearances for the club. His game is simple and effective, and you would expect him to add the intricacies required of a world-class winger to his game once his confidence grows. Overall, Gnabry looks like an excellent prospect for the future.

How much will he play?

Gnabry is likely to struggle for game time due to the sheer number of quality wingers ahead of him in the pecking order. Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla and even Mesut Özil are all far more likely to start on the flanks of Wenger’s side than young Serge, and this could be detrimental to the 19-year-old’s development. For now, Gnabry will have to fight for a spot in our League Cup games, and might even want to think about going out on loan in January for some playing time.

How well will he do?

Despite his limited playing time, Gnabry has performed admirably in each of his appearances for Arsenal over the past two years. The German reminds me of a young Jack Wilshere in many ways; such is his tendency to focus on doing the simple things right and leave the more risky decisions to our experienced players. This attitude allows Serge to slot into our starting eleven with no problems whatsoever. I don’t think Gnabry will let Wenger down if he is called upon this season.

Pace: 8/10
Dribbling: 7/10
Passing: 6/10
Crossing: 4/10
Finishing: 6/10
Positioning: 7/10

Current Value: £5 million
Potential Value: £30 million
Overall: 6.5/10

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