The German media have confirmed Arsene Wenger’s claims that Bayern Munich were behind Serge Gnabry’s move to Werder Bremen.

According to SportBild, when Bremen bought Gnabry for €6m in 2016, they already had an agreement to sell him on to Bayern Munich for €7m a year later. For Bremen, it was an easy decision, since they got the player for a year and €1m profit at the end.

For Bayern, the deal was just as beneficial. They received the extra million Euros back from Hoffenheim when they loaned Gnabry out the next year, so their net spend on the player was just €6m.

Gnabry has already made over 50 appearances for Bayern, contributing to over 30 goals (18 goals, 13 assists), and he won their Player of the Season award last year. Arguably, they’ve got value for money from him even if they cancelled his contract for free today.

Bayern knew they would never get a deal like that directly from Arsenal, considering the stature of their club, so they manipulated the situation from behind the scenes, just as Arsene Wenger recently claimed.

For the record, Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann has denied the claims, and Bayern have refused to comment on them.