Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger Feels Remorse In Letting Go Of Bayern Munich’s Star

The manner of how Bayern Munich has raced to the finals of the UEFA Champions League has been impressive. Their season has been led by the superstar Robert Lewandowski and the consistent Serge Gnarby. Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger expressed his regret of how his club was unable to keep the rising star.

The career of Gnarby started under the guidance of Wenger, as he was a young talent for the Gunners. As a member of the youth squad of Arsenal, he already showed great potential for the team. One of the best stretches of the 25-year-old was his stint with the Under-23 team where he played in 38 appearances and scored 12 goals and tallied eight assists.

Now as a consistent contributor for Bayern Munich, Gnarby has been a reliable force for the Germany-based squad. In 87 appearances, he’s tallied a total of 36 goals and 23 assists. The way he facilitates the offense will play a crucial role in the upcoming Champions League finals against Paris Saint-Germain.

With all of the success he’s attained as a team player, Wenger shared that he’s had a lot of promise when he was younger.

"Let's not forget Gnabry, I bought him at the age of 15 from Stuttgart and he was injured a lot," Wenger said, by way of Goal.com.

A lot has happened since then as Gnarby's estimated market value is now at around 72 million Euros. The signs of brilliance were already prominent from the start but Arsenal was unable to secure a long-term deal for Gnarby.

"He's creative, he can score goals, right-footed, left-footed, good power, good penetration, very, very clever with the timing of his runs,” Wenger added.

There were also limitations to his game but Wenger recognizes how Gnarby was able to develop throughout his career.

"His tendency was a bit too easy like I've told you about with these young talented players, but he has matured a lot and is now one of the dominant players in Germany," Wenger shared.

Injuries played a role during Gnarby’s stint with Arsenal. It was an offer from Bayern that eventually lured him out of the squad.

"He wanted to sign, in the end, didn't want to extend his contract [with Arsenal] and I was very sad. But we couldn't get over the line with him because I knew he would have a great career,” Wenger continued.

It will be interesting to monitor how Bayern Munich's Lewandowski and Gnarby will do against PSG in the Champions League finals.