Werder Bremen’s sporting executive, Frank Bauman, has explained why he believes Serge Gnabry was right to leave Arsenal.

Speaking to Bild, Bauman explained that the winger is now getting consistent playing time and has slotted into their team seamlessly. However, he’s already talking about hoping the 21-year-old won’t leave any time soon.

“Serge made a conscious decision to make the step from a top club to a club where he gets minutes, and it wasn’t the worst step for him,” Bauman said.

“Serge knows what he has at Werder and that he can build something here.

“I don’t have any fears that he wants to leave. 

“I hope that he will continue on the Werder path for many years.

“I am amazed, and a bit surprised, about his consistency.

“It can take time to settle at a new club. It’s nice that he’s doing it at speed.”

I don’t think there’s any illusion that Gnabry will be at Werder forever. He sees it as an opportunity to hone his skill, notch up more game time and get noticed. So far this season he’s scored twice and assisted once in the Bundesliga, so at the moment he appears to be meeting his goals.

Again, this brings up the question of whether we were right to let him go or not, although I’m not sure the club had much say in the matter.

At this stage the decision does appear to be working in Gnabry’s favour. He’s doing well; he’s definitely getting more game time than he would in north London. And, as much as Arsenal fans may not want to hear it, this could come back to bite us.