Arsenal: Replacing Gnabry With Almiron Is Massive Step Back
Arsenal exit rumors are picking up with increased fury, but nothing should draw more ire than the prospect of Serge Gnabry being sold.
There is no one that I have felt the need to champion more than Serge Gnabry. The kid can flat out play but for whatever reason, it hasn’t clicked for him at Arsenal just yet. After a breakout 2013/14 season where he scored his first senior team goal at the age of 18, he showcased the same promise as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, a debilitating knee injury intervened and cost him a crucial follow up campaign that robbed him of precious developmental time.
And then he was loaned out to Tony Pulis’ dungeon where 12 minutes of time was all he saw. It was, in a word, stupid.
Now he’s back. After again showcasing his talents in the Arsenal U21 side, he has been the player of the Olympics for Germany, who were ousted in penalties in the final against host Brazil.
With just the loathed Theo Walcott and the underwhelming Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ranking in behind Alexis, Wenger saw fit to loan out Joel Cmapbell, which would have seemed to open up a door for Gnabry to return and make a dent.
However, reports are indicating that Werder Bremen are not only going to acquire him, they are going to acquire him on a permanent deal.
This news story went all over the place, with Bayern Munich the original culprit before the concept switched to a straight up loan to Bremen. Now that the deal looks to be permanent, there should be moderate to high amounts of anger in North London.
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Why leave the team short staffed? That is what Wenger is looking at doing if he sells Gnabry. The kid has all the talent in the world and can make an impact right this very moment if Wenger could overcome his infatuation with Theo Walcott, who should have been sold long ago. This gross faith in his doofy English duo is what is hampering guys like Campbell or Gnabry from catching on.
It serves absolutely no purpose to let an immensely talented 21 year old go and not replace him, or to replace him with a 22 year old Paraguayan with no goal scoring experience that plays in Argentina.
Miguel Almiron is the only winger linked to Arsenal, who suddenly really need a winger. But if he is supposed to help us overcome Gnabry than forget about it, he’s nowhere close. Gnabry was better at the age of 18 than Almiron is now.
All of that fantastic business that Wenger has done this summer can take several steps back if he seeks to replace Gnabry with a bargain buy.