COMMENT: He was fed up. Sick of it. With injuries. With London. With Arsenal... Serge Gnabry just wanted to start again.
We entered this column planning to give both barrels to Tony Pulis. And, yeah, his treatment of Gnabry last season went a long way to making the German's mind up. But when it comes to why he's now starring with Werder Bremen - and not at the Emirates - there's plenty of blame to go around.
Saturday was zenith for Gnabry. Justification. In August, he threw all in with Werder. And Saturday, with a hat-trick for his country on debut, was reward for having the courage of his convictions. After all, someone had to. Pulis didn't. Nor did Arsene Wenger. Sure, the Gunners manager spoke like he did, but his actions, at least from the player's side, suggested otherwise.
Okay, the opposition was San Marino. But Gnabry still had to play his way into Jogi Low's squad. And it's still a hat-trick on debut - putting him alongside names like Dieter Müller and the great Fritz Walter.
Go back 12 months and Gnabry was stuck in the stands at the Hawthorns. Pulis had signed him, but he wouldn't play him. Did anyone really think otherwise. The treatment of Callum McManaman should've been enough for Wenger to put the phone down when Pulis called. Instead, it was he who was phoning the West Brom manager to tear up the agreement before Christmas.
Yeah, we can hear you Baggies fans. Nacer Chadli. Nacer Chadli. And he's been brilliant for Albion. No doubt. But there's a chasm in status between a young lad on-loan and a club record signing. Of course Pulis is going to give Chadli every chance to establish himself. But what Gnabry has achieved in less than six months damns Pulis. A silver medal at the Rio Olympics. Equal top scorer - from midfield - for the tournament. A move to Werder. A call-up to the senior Germany squad. And a hat-trick on debut. The talent was always there. Pulis ignored it. End of. As it was with Arsenal...
"West Brom made up his mind," a Berlin source told Tribalfootball.com last night. "His time there really crystallised in his mind that he couldn't go through something like that again."
Indeed, while his treatment by Wenger in the second-half of last season didn't help, his time at Albion had made up Gnabry's mind. No more loans. If he wasn't going to get a game at Arsenal, it had to be a complete break. His Gunners career was over.
Of course, none of what Gnabry is achieving would've occurred without the intervention of one man. Pulis couldn't see it. Wenger was unsure of it. But Horst Hrubesch was convinced. Germany's U21 coach was hammered for taking Gnabry to Rio. One game last season. 12 minutes in total. And you're taking him to Rio? Do what?!
The rest is history. Hrubesch's confidence and Gnabry's talent earned him that €5 million move to Werder, who actually have a lot to thank Pulis for. Stuttgart were also keen. As were Schalke and even Bayer Leverkusen. Indeed, half the Bundesliga made contact with Gnabry's minders during the Games. But all the offers on the table were for loans. With Gnabry free to sign a pre-contract in the New Year, there was no reason for any German club to cough up a fee for the lad.
"(But) Gnabry made it clear," our source adds. "It couldn't be a loan. After West Brom, he knew the status of loan players were much different to those who'd been signed outright. He didn't want to go through that experience again."
And so Werder, with GM Frank Baumann driving the deal, coughed up.
"Baumann was always on the phone to him. (Coach) Viktor Skripnik also shared one call. It began before the Olympics and continued until Gnabry signed."
Wenger did try to convince Gnabry to stay. It's not like he was pushing him out the door. But the Serge just couldn't feel it. He heard Wenger say he believed in him, but nothing during his last six months at London Colney suggested any sort of conviction behind the manager's words.
But in Germany, there is belief . Not just from Werder nor the DFB. Bayern Munich also have a belief in Gnabry.
It's all a bit of mystery. But Bayern - not Arsenal - do appear to have an option on Gnabry.
Getting someone to confirm this is like nailing jelly to a wall. The family says one thing. Werder another. Bayern won't rule anything out. There's hints from directors. But there's so much smoke, something is obviously in the works.
Wenger and Arsenal can argue Werder is a step down. But if Bayern can see something in the lad. If they are so sure of his talent they're prepared to pay for an option for him. What does that say of the wisdom of Arsenal to sell? More so, what does that say about English football's treatment of Gnabry "I know what I can do when my body is fit," Gnabry said after his San Marino performance.
"When I get my playing time, these are the results..."
