Last year, the Bavarians were still looking for a successor to their legendary winger, but the ex-Arsenal man has shown he is more than the task.
Like last summer, Bayern Munich were still publicly looking for a successor to Arjen Robben
The Dutch legend won every trophy possible with the Bavarians, and played more than 300 games in 10 seasons in Munich.
Serge Gnabry had started for Robben in 2018-19 under Niko Kovac in 2018-19, yet Karl-Heinz Rummenigge gave interviews claiming that he believed Manchester City’s Leroy Sane “would be the successor to Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.”
Sane definitely signed for Bayern this summer, but while watching from the sidelines in Manchester over the course of the 2019-20 campaign, Gnabry was set to become Robben’s rightful heir.
On Wednesday night in Lisbon, he confirmed his claim, and opened the scoring with a goal straight from the Dutchman’s playbook, cutting from the right before releasing an unstoppable shot with his left foot.
Despite Lyon having plenty of chances in the Bayern area, thanks to their ability to bypass the high defensive line, the Ligue 1 outfit were down 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Gnabry made his name once again got on the scoreboard.
Robert Lewandowski went into the game leading this year’s Championscorer race with 14 goals, but missed a brilliant chance for another, allowing Gnabry to react the fastest to make sure the ball went over the line.
After scoring four goals in London against Tottenham in the group stage, Gnabry took his own European tally to nine in 2019-20, the highest by an active player in the competition behind Lewandowski, who scored his goal with a late header from Joshua Kimmich’s cross.
In fact, the combined 24 goals of Gnabry and Lewandowski have seen them break the record previously set by Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in 2013-14 for the most productive pairing in a single Champions League season.
When Bayern signed Gnabry in 2017, some people were surprised by the move despite a solid season at Werder Bremen following his departure from Arsenal.
The winger decided to leave the Gunners due to a lack of first-team chances that were not considered to be a starter by Tony Pulis while on loan at West Brom.
Bayern beat Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig after his signing from Bremen, but immediately handed him over to the former, as they already had Robben on the books, as well as the man they hoped Robben’s successor would be: Douglas Costa.
Costa was sold to Juventus the following summer and Gnabry’s 10 goals on loan at Hoffenheim were enough to keep him in Munich, despite the club’s boss still desperately looking for a long-term replacement for Robben.
Even after Gnabry netted 13 goals in all competitions in his first straight season at Bayern, then-coach Kovac acknowledged that the club needed four new players, with the wing positions needing reinforcements following the departure of Robben and Ribery
However, those public statements did not affect Gnabry’s form or his confidence. He has always been determined to prove himself, and that is why he left Arsenal in 2016, despite Arsene Wenger envying him to extend his contract.
“I came up with the goal of getting games,” Gnabry said Goal last year. “That’s what I’ve been working on from the beginning and that’s how it should stay.”
This season he has kept his starting role, but also become more influential because Hansi Flick took on the giant of Kovac.
His double against Lyon brings him to 23 goals in 45 games in all leagues, making him Bayern Munich’s second highest scorer in 2019-20, while also equaling Robben’s best season for the club.
Robben’s biggest moment for Bayern came in 2013 when he scored the winning goal in the Champions League final.
With the form that Gnabry is at the moment, it would not be surprising if he succeeded Robben with that performance as well.
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