Tony Pulis has now broken his silence on why Serge Gnabry was not good enough for West Bromwich Albion. He also says Arsene Wenger was responsible for him flopping at Arsenal.
The Gunners loaned Gnabry to the Baggies for the 2015/16 term to secure him first-team minutes. But the forward struggled to establish himself at The Hawthorns under Pulis. So, he returned to north London at mid-season having played 137 minutes over three games.
Yet Wenger, likewise, froze Gnabry out until the summer when the German joined Werder Bremen for £4.5m. The forward had been at Emirates Stadium since 2011 and rose up the academy ranks for 18 first-team appearances. He also scored once and assisted two goals.
It would only take Gnabry one season with Werder Bremen to get the attention of Bayern Munich. He scored 11 and assisted two goals in 27 Bundesliga games to get an €8m (£7m) move to Bavaria. There, the Stuttgart-born star has won the German top-flight four times.
Pulis points the finger at Wenger for Gnabry flopping at Arsenal
Bayern Munich have also won two DFB-Pokals and the Champions League in 2019/20 with Gnabry. But Pulis does not feel he should take all of the blame for the forward flopping in England as Wenger had Gnabry at Arsenal for far longer than he was at Pulis’ West Brom.
“I always get it thrown at me,” Pulis told the Under the Cosh podcast. “The big thing is and what people [forget] is that we had him on loan.
“His mother club was Arsenal and his manager was Arsene Wenger – and Arsene Wenger sold him to Werder Bremen for £7m. He had him right from 14 all the way through. I only had him for a couple of months.”
Pulis also believes that Wenger selling Gnabry following his issues at West Brom and back at Arsenal were the making of the forward. He feels those tough spells were a hard lesson.
“It was most probably the best thing that happened to him,” Pulis continued. “He probably went back thinking, ‘if I can’t make an impression at West Brom and Arsenal have sold me, I better pick myself up a little bit and start having a go’.”
Pulis opens up on why Gnabry was not good enough for West Brom
Pulis now admits he must hold his hands up for feeling Gnabry was not good enough in his West Brom while on loan from Arsenal. But the former Baggies boss does not think anyone at The Hawthorns back then would have backed the German’s career to play out like it has.
Pulis also recalls his former West Brom assistant Dave Kemp’s shock at hearing that Bayern Munich were signing Gnabry. He could not believe the same player who was hauled off in a reserve game was joining the Bundesliga giants. But Gnabry has often been superb since.
“He has done fantastic,” Pulis added. “You have to hold your hands up. But at the time, he was nowhere near it. He got brought off in a reserve game.
“I wasn’t there but it was a reserve game on a Monday and they played Aston Villa and the reserve coach, who is now with Darren [Moore] at Sheffield Wednesday, brought him off. He said he never tried a leg, he stood out wide, he flicked it up a few times but that was it.
“Listen, he’s gone on to great things and he’s done absolutely fantastic. I remember ringing Kempy up and saying Serge is going to Bayern Munich and Kempy said it must be his twin brother, it’s not the player we had.
“If you ask any of the players at the Albion if they thought that Serge would have gone on [to do what he has], not a chance. But supporters can’t work that out.”