Werder Bremen winger Serge Gnabry has revealed he turned down Arsenal’s attempts to keep him in the summer in order to seal a move to the Bundesliga.
Gnabry has been in sublime form for the Bundesliga strugglers since moving from Arsenal in the summer in a deal worth a reported £4.5m and his performances have even earned him international recognition with Germany this season.
The 21-year-old scored a hat-trick on his debut for Germany in a crushing win over European minnows San Marino in November and has now revealed Arsenal ‘badly’ wanted to keep him.
“It was the right decision [to leave Arsenal],” Gnabry told Kicker, via The Daily Mail. “Everybody who compares my development over the last four months to my time in England before that can’t come to a different conclusion.
“That was the main reason for the transfer – I wanted to get more playing time and it worked. Arsenal wanted to keep me, badly, but I had a look after my development. If a player does not perform well, a club has no sympathy and they do not want to keep him.”
Alexander Nouri’s side are currently embroiled in a relegation battle following their poor start to the season, but that hasn’t prevent Gnabry, who was linked with Bayern Munich before joining Bremen, from flourishing.
Gnabry has reserved his best performances away from home, where he has scored in each of his five away league appearances this season. In fact, only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (8) has scored more goals than Gnabry (5) away from home in the Bundesliga this season.
For more stats on Serge Gnabry, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
Ok Gnabry, you've had your fun, you've nicked father's car, stolen a bottle of gin from the liquor cabinet, and had your joy ride. Now come back home where you belong, all is forgiven, son.