Two and a half months ago I came to the defense of Joel Campbell and why the stars aligned for him to take his chance at Arsenal and cement a place in the first-team. With recent events ending in him being loaned out to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, and the likely full move away from the club that is surely on the horizon, another door (yet under different circumstances) has been opened for a different wide player who has yet to show what he is capable of – Serge Gnabry.
Born in the Porsche capital of the world, Serge David Gnabry was born to an Ivorian father and a German mother. Despite showing great natural ability in sprinting, he joined TSV Weissach at the age of five to begin his footballing education. Stops at GSV Hemmingen, TSF Ditzingen, SpVgg Feuerbach and Stuttgarter Kickers would come before the big move; to hometown club and storied Bundesliga outfit VfB Stuttgart in 2006 at the age of 11. During his five years with Die Schwaben, Gnabry gained a reputation for being one of the brighter talents in his age group, resulting in his breaking into the German U-16 side in 2010 and earning himself five appearances. It was then that Arsène Wenger and Arsenal would come calling.
