What Arsenal should do with Serge Gnabry

Arsenal midfielder Serge Gnabry is currently tearing up the competition with Germany at the Olympics in Brazil. The 21-year-old winger has netted six goals in just five matches, tying him for most goals scored in the tournament with teammate Nils Peterson (one of Germany’s three over-aged players). While highly-rated players such as Neymar, Lars Bender, Max Meyer, Gabigol, and Son Heung-min have all headlined the 2016 Olympics, Gnabry has arguably been the standout player in Brazil. With help from the Arsenal youngster, Germany has claimed a spot in the gold medal match against Brazil on Saturday at the Maracana. Although

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With help from the Arsenal youngster, Germany has claimed a spot in the gold medal match against Brazil on Saturday at the Maracana. Although Gnabry did not score in the semifinal match against Nigeria, he did play an integral part in setting up Germany’s opening goal of the match. It also happened to be the first game of the 2016 Olympics in which Gnabry failed to score in. As the tricky winger continues to produce in Rio, there is a big question looking ahead: what should Arsenal do with Gnabry for the 2016/17 season?

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger sent Gnabry on loan to fellow Premier League side West Brom for what was supposed to be the entire 2015/16 campaign, however, the loan deal turned out to be disaster. Gnabry played just 12 total Premier League minutes on the season and was sent back to Arsenal four months short of the proposed agreement. During his time at West Brom, boss Tony Pulis claimed that the loanee was not ready to play for his club. “Serge has come here to play games,” said Pulis, “but he just hasn’t been for me, at the moment, at that level to play the games.”

Meanwhile, the Baggies ended the 2015/16 season in 14th place of the table and only scored 34 Premier League goals, second worst only to last-placed Aston Villa. While Pulis certainly has egg on his face now, Wenger will have to choose wisely this time around if he does opt to send Gnabry back out on loan for the current campaign.

The 21-year-old will definitely need a few weeks vacation after playing for the gold medal on Saturday. After the much-deserved time off, Wenger will have to make the decision to either loan Gnabry out, or let him fight for a place in the current Arsenal squad. The Gunners currently have Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi, and Joel Campbell all vying for spots on the wing. Campbell, a Costa Rica international, couldn’t even make the bench for the team’s defeat to Liverpool last Sunday.

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With a somewhat crowded midfield, Gnabry may have the best chance at consistent playing time for the current campaign away from north London. Arsenal will, though, have to do their best in avoiding a repeat of what happened at West Brom last year. German Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin have already claimed that they are interested in bringing in Gnabry for the season. Receiving experience in a top league such as the Bundesliga would certainly be a positive for the German.

Gnabry’s current contract with the Gunners is set to expire next summer, however, Wenger is keen to re-sign the young winger as soon as possible. “I want to keep Serge and to extend his contract,” the Arsenal manager said on Thursday. “We stood by him for a long time. He went to West Brom and didn’t get a game, and we had to to rebuild his confidence when he came back. I allowed him go to Rio without playing for us at all, to get him back to competition and help Germany. He has been here for a long time and it is important for him to stay with us.”

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