The forward decided he had to leave Arsenal in search of more minutes on the pitch
Serge Gnabry of FC Bayern Munich in action before the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Union Berlin and FC Bayern München in 2025
Serge Gnabry left Arsenal for the Bundesliga(Image: 2025 Inaki Esnaola)
View 4 Images
Former Arsenal star Serge Gnabry once claimed the Gunners wanted to keep him, but he had to leave north London for the sake of his development. His previous predicament mirrors that of a current Arsenal youngster, Myles Lewis-Skelly, who may have to leave for more minutes this summer.
The 31-year-old Gnabry emerged as one of the finest wingers in world football following his exit from Arsenal. The German international joined the club from Stuttgart in 2010 as a 16-year-old.
Despite his promise, he struggled for game time under former manager Arsene Wenger, making just 18 appearances for the first team. He was sent out on loan to West Brom before he sought to carry on his football elsewhere.
*FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page*
In August 2016, Gnabry signed for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for a reported £5million. His performances there earned him a move to Bayern a year later, where he has not looked back.
He told Kicker in 2016*:* "It was the right decision [to leave Arsenal]. 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 to look after my development. If a player does not perform well, a club has no sympathy and they do not want to keep him."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger talks to Serge Gnabry during their time at Arsenal
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger talks to Serge Gnabry during their time at Arsenal(Image: 2014 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
View 4 Images
He has 103 goals for Bayern, having won seven Bundesliga titles, the Champions League in 2020, three German Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. He's even been linked with a return to Arsenal in recent seasons, thanks to his scintillating showings for the German side.
Gnabry felt like he had no choice but to leave Arsenal, with the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all blocking his entry into the first XI.
It's an eerily similar bind to Lewis-Skelly's. The 19-year-old has emerged as one of Arsenal's brightest talents in years. However, the natural defender finds Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber in his way of starting in his favoured position.
Serge Gnabry
Ex-Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry has continued to shine for Bayern Munich(Image: Masashi Hara)
View 4 Images
Last season, Mikel Arteta pushed the youngster into midfield on occasion, as he made 30 appearances for the Gunners. But Bruno Guimaraes' arrival at the Emirates from Newcastle United has further complicated matters.
With his minutes expected to be hard to come by in the 2026/2027 season, football.london reports Lewis-Skelly has been offered to both Manchester United and Chelsea.
Arsenal youngsters leaving the club and performing well elsewhere isn't unheard of. Monaco star Folarin Balogun left the Gunners in 2023.
Myles Lewis-Skelly during the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal FC and Borussia Dortmund at Emirates Stadium.
Manchester United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
View 4 Images
He has been linked with a big-money move to Spurs this summer, having impressed for the USA at the World Cup. In a promising sign for Lewis-Skelly, Gnabry is still enjoying his football in the Bundesliga and only recently crushed any talk of him leaving.
“To be honest, I find it a bit crazy how wildly people are speculating back and forth, not only about my name but also about the names of my teammates," Gnabry told Suddeutsche Zeitung about rumours over his future. "Especially since we all have valid contracts and are still playing football at the highest level.”
“I have been playing professional football for over ten years; I know what it’s like," Gnabry added. "New players are brought in every year; that’s just the way it is. We all know what to do in a situation like this; it’s about not worrying too much about it and concentrating on ourselves.”