SERGE GNABRY has credited his nightmare spell at West Brom for his 2020 Champions League win with Bayern Munich.
The German star, 25, is now one of the most sought-after stars in world football.
Serge Gnabry claims his horror spell at West Brom helped him become a superstarCredit: PA:Press Association
Serge Gnabry is now a Bundesliga and Champions League winnerCredit: Getty Images – Getty
After joining Arsenal from Werder Bremen for just £100,000 in 2011, Gnabry found minutes hard to come by at the Emirates.
And he was shunted off on loan to West Brom in 2015, then aged 20, where he would play just 12 MINUTES in five months at the Hawthorns.
Then-boss Tony Pulis famously claimed the youngster wasn’t ‘at the level’ to play in the Premier League.
But Gnabry has philosophically suggested his hardening spell in the Midlands toughened him up enough to become a Bundesliga and Champions League winner last summer.
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On his time at the Baggies, Gnabry told the Daily Mail: “It was a very important time in my career, where I had to learn and accept a lot of things as well.
“It made me a tougher guy on the pitch.
“When you’re younger, maybe talent was enough and just enjoying [yourself] and having fun.
“Then I realised it’s also hard work and things don’t go your way.
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“It didn’t go well at West Brom but I just kept working and that’s one of things I adopted: always keep working and knowing when I go home.
“I’ve always believed in my qualities. If someone else doesn’t what can I do?”
Gnabry concluded: “At the end of day, if I didn’t go to West Brom, if it didn’t go how it did, I wouldn’t be here at Bayern Munich now.
“I wouldn’t be Champions League winner, I wouldn’t have had five trophies in one season and be playing, I think, in the best team in the world, football wise.
“In the end I can say it helped me a lot on my road to become who I am. And that’s the story.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
