- Planet Sport writer
- 26 August 2024
Vincent Kompany's challenging Bayern Munich debut victory
Vincent Kompany's first match as Bayern Munich's head coach proved to be a challenging Bundesliga debut.
Serge Gnabry is a professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Bayern Munich and the German national team.
Gnabry played for a host of different clubs as a youngster, including TSV Weissach, TSF Ditzingen, GSV Hemmingen, SpVgg Feuerbach, Stuttgarter Kickers, VfB Stuttgart and Arsenal.
He eventually made his breakthrough at Arsenal but struggled to consolidate a regular place and was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion. Gnabry ultimately moved on a permanent basis to Werder Bremen and then Bayern Munich, where he has played his club soccer since 2017 bar a spell on loan at 1899 Hoffenheim.
Gnabry has played a major part in Bayern Munich winning three consecutive Bundesliga titles, as well as their 2019/20 treble success.
Misfiring for the Gunners and West Brom
Gnabry joined Arsenal in 2011 and remained on their books until 2016, going on loan to West Bromwich Albion in 2015/16. Gnabry scored just one goal in 18 first team appearances throughout the course of his time in north London under the guidance of legendary manager Arsene Wenger.
"It was very exciting in the beginning. Quite anxious as well, because it was such a big world to get into," said Gnabry of his move to the Gunners, as per BBC.
"The cultural effect helped me a lot and, maturity-wise, I have taken a lot with me from my time in London. As a 16-year-old boy, to leave your parents, leave your surroundings, it makes you grow a bit faster.
"I had hard times. English football is a bit tougher I would say in the youth than back in Germany, so you also have to adapt to that.
"I think everyone who goes through a similar scenario experiences the same, but in the end it is an experience and it makes you grow."
While on loan at West Brom in 2015/16, Gnabry made only three appearances in all competitions.
"You could knock me over with a feather," former West Brom manager Tony Pulis told Sky Sports of Gnabry's success after leaving the Baggies. "I'm amazed. We had him at West Brom, we took him on loan and we could never get him fit.
"He even got taken off in an Under-21 game and he went back to Arsenal and they sold him on.
"He was a nice kid, I didn't mind him at all and he's really fulfilled his potential.
"To have him at West Brom and seeing him do what he's done is absolutely amazing.
"When people show what they can really do and knuckle down and become so good as he's done it's absolutely fantastic."
German revival
Gnabry realised the importance of getting regular first team minutes under his belt and thus signed for Werder Bremen in August 2016, reportedly receiving advice from his German teammates during his time at Arsenal, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil.
"Definitely it was after the West Brom spell," said Gnabry of his choice to go back to Germany, as quoted by the BBC. "I knew that I needed to play again at a high level, and I think Germany in the couple of years since I moved had progressed a lot.
"So I thought: 'OK, take a chance on that, let me go back.' I didn't see a lot of game time at Arsenal the next season. That was the key factor."
Gnabry revitalised his career at Werder Bremen with 11 goals in 27 appearances. The team finished eighth in the Bundesliga and he signed for Bayern Munich in a three-year deal reportedly worth €8million.
Shining at Bayern
According to Gnabry's BBC interview, he was denied the opportunity to join Bayern Munich's academy at the age of 10 by his father Jean-Hermann. At the time, Gnabry lived in Stuttgart, more than two hours drive away.
"I wanted to, it's a true story," Gnabry said. "Back then, Bayern was already the best club. It took me another 12 years to come back here.
"I'm glad with how it's turned out.
"The route I've taken made me what I am and who I am today."
His first season after signing for Bayern Munich saw him loaned out to 1899 Hoffenheim. In the 2017/18 season, he scored 10 goals in 26 appearances, helping Hoffenheim secure qualification to the following season's UEFA Champions League.
Gnabry was presented as a Bayern Munich player on July 2, 2018 and was handed the No. 22 jersey.
Big win feeling. pic.twitter.com/thNuCnjjg2
— Serge Gnabry (@SergeGnabry) November 8, 2020
In 2018/19, Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. Gnabry scored 13 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions.
The 2019/20 season saw Gnabry really come into his ow, scoring 23 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions. Bayern defended their DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga titles, and capped off an iconic treble with a 1-0 win over PSG in the Champions League final.
Gnabry was particularly impressive in matches against his former London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
2020/21 proved to be less prolific for both Gnabry and Bayern, but they still defended their Bundesliga title and he nevertheless chipped in with 11 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions.
German national team
Gnabry was born to an Ivorian father and German mother, but he represented Germany at under-16, under-17 and under-18 levels. In 2017, he won the UEFA European U-21 Championship with Germany.
Gnabry was the joint-top scorer at the 2016 Olympics as Germany won the silver medal. He and Nils Petersen each netted six goals. He received his first senior national team call-up under Joachim Low later that year.
Gnabry missed Germany's squad for their ill-fated 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign in Russia, but made the cut for UEFA Euro 2020, where Germany have been pitted against France, Hungary and Portugal in what many have coined 'the group of death'.
He started all three of Germany's matches in the group stage and was used from the substitute's bench in their round of 16 defeat to England at Wembley. However, Gnabry was unable to get himself on the scoresheet in the tournament.
Personal life
Gnabry has a famous celebration imitating cooking, which he has said was inspired by James Harden of the NBA.
"There's a video on YouTube where he's cooking after dropping, I think, a buzzer-beater and won the game. So he was cooking, stirring it up, and that's the celebration," he told fcbayern.tv.
"I think you can relate the celebration to him having a buzzer-beater or winning the game to us, as in football we don't score as many points as they do in basketball."
In 2017, The Sun reported that Gnabry was dating Sarah Kehrer, sister of fellow player Thilo Kehrer.
Net worth
Salary Sport report that Gnabry earns £123,000 per week at Bayern Munich.
