Arsene Wenger: Serge Gnabry 'Manipulated' into Arsenal Exit by Bayern Munich

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said Bayern Munich "manipulated" Serge Gnabry into leaving the Gunners. 

Gnabry was never able to cement a place in the first team at the Emirates Stadium and eventually left the club on a permanent basis in 2016 for Werder Bremen. A year later, he made the move to the Munich giants, and after a season on loan at Hoffenheim, he has since established himself as a crucial first-team player with Bayern.

Speaking about his former charge, Wenger said he thinks the German champions used some underhand tactics to get Gnabry away from the Premier League side, per beIN Sports (h/t Goal's Robin Bairner):

"We tried to extend his contract for a very long time and I think that Bayern manipulated behind the scenes, that if he went to Bremen he would join Bayern after.

"He was always a very talented boy who lacked confidence in some stages, but we always thought we had a player who could achieve a lot. He came back from a very bad experience on loan at West Brom where his confidence was destroyed. I tried to rebuild him because I believed in him."

Gnabry moved to West Brom for the 2015-16 season, but he only made one Premier League appearance for the Baggies.

The 24-year-old has made major strides since moving to Bayern. Not only is he a key player for club and country, he's performing at the highest level too; he recently destroyed Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League, netting four goals in a remarkable 7-2 win in London.

Despite struggling to make the breakthrough at Arsenal, it's clear Gnabry still valued his time with the club. He posted the following after his remarkable four-goal haul against Spurs:

In the few appearances Gnabry made for Arsenal, there were only flashes of talent. Given Wenger had so many high-class attacking players on the books at the club, it's understandable that the German was unable to get too many minutes.

Gnabry has clearly benefitted from regular football, as well as return to his homeland. The forward has excelled operating on either flank for Bayern, helping the team fill the void left by the recent departures of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

Per the Bayern Strikes Twitter account, since arriving at the club the winger has added a productive edge to his game:

When asked about Wenger in the past, Gnabry has spoken favourably of the Frenchman:

While Arsenal supporters will lament the form their ex-winger is showing at the moment, there's no guarantees Gnabry would have turned into an elite player had he hung around at the Emirates Stadium.

The Bayern man will be delighted with how he's started the campaign, but will still be keen to improve facets of his game. If he can channel performances like the one against Spurs on a more consistent basis, he'll be on the way to becoming one of the best wide players in the game.