After 18 appearances in four years, Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry could be about to leave the club.
The German winger, who played in his country’s Olympic final defeat to Brazil, has seen his progress stall since breaking through in the 2013/14 season.
He spent the last campaign on loan at West Bromwich Albion but returned to North London early after only making one Premier League appearance for the Baggies.
But Gnabry is still just 21, and many Arsenal supporters believe he still has plenty to offer the club.
For that reason, they aren’t too happy that he’s seemingly on his way back to Germany with Werder Bremen. And they’re even less happy that captain Per Mertesacker may be responsible for the deal.
#Baumann: "@SergeGnabry would like to play for us. Talks with @Arsenal are going well."
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) August 30, 2016
#Baumann: "@mertesacker told us a lot about @SergeGnabry. He is a big fan of the player."
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) August 30, 2016
Bremen narrowly avoided relegation from the Bundesliga last season, and general manager Frank Baumann confirmed talks are ongoing regarding the potential deal.
It may yet end up being a loan deal rather than a permanent move, but Arsenal fans are starting to fear the worst.
While Gnabry is far from an unknown quantity in his home country – indeed he has caps at Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level in addition to his six goals in six games at the Olympics – some have still been quick to point the finger at Mertesacker.
The 31-year-old spent five seasons in Bremen before moving to the Emirates Stadium, but he is Arsenal’s captain now and some are upset that he would convince one of their own to move on.
https://twitter.com/TakeaBowPires/status/770619572139491328
https://twitter.com/Gnabryesque/status/770611779319640064
https://twitter.com/Rickkk1204/status/770614427628560388
https://twitter.com/Mesutical/status/770611543839019008
@tomgunner14 @mertesacker @SergeGnabry. Mertesacker did what? I'm gon kill em!!
— 🙄 (@obillion9) August 30, 2016
@OzilSupply @mertesacker @SergeGnabry WTF Per
— anas (@TheAnasGhanchi) August 30, 2016
@OzilSupply @mertesacker @SergeGnabry WTF Per
— anas (@TheAnasGhanchi) August 30, 2016
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