Five stars who quit Arsenal and became successful including Serge Gnabry and Henrikh Mkhitaryan
SERGE GNABRY has been giving a lot of people nightmares in recent years.
Opposition players, opposing bosses… Arsenal fans.
Gnabry was once a Gunners flop – and now he’s an elite winger thriving elsewhere.
And the German ace isn’t the only one either.
We take a look at FIVE players who failed to inspire at Arsenal before launching themselves to stardom elsewhere.
SERGE GNABRY
THE German winger, 28, was once on the books of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
In five years at the club between 2011 and 2016, Gnabry made just ten Premier League appearances.
He was even loaned out to West Brom – where he warmed the bench, playing just once.
So it was surprising when German giants Werder Bremen came knocking.
Signed for just £100,000, Wenger leapt at the chance to sell Gnabry for £5million.
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But since then, the winger has become one of the most-feared wingers on the planet, routinely tearing defences apart.
Arsenal fans have had nightmares ever since – and were given a bittersweet reminder in 2019.
Gnabry scored four times as Bayern thumped arch-rivals Tottenham 7-2 in the Champions League.
The forward now boasts Bundesliga titles in his trophy cabinet and a Champions League and Club World Cup gong.
He could be on the move this summer too. Will Arsenal try to tempt him back to the Emirates?
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN
THE Armenian joined Arsenal in the infamous swap transfer taking Alexis Sanchez head to Manchester United.
After 18 months and just eight goals in 39 Premier League games, the Gunners allowed Mkhitaryan to join Roma on loan.
A year later, the North Londoners cut their losses and terminated the attacking midfielder’s contract, allowing him to move to the Italian giants permanently.
After that, Mkhitaryan was in superb form, even helping Jose Mourinho’s side win the inaugural Europa Conference League.
With 27 goals in 87 Serie A games, his red-hot form saw him attract the attention of Inter Milan, with Mkhitaryan completing his free move last summer.
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
IN 11 years at Arsenal, the Polish stopper struggled to convince Wenger he was worthy of the No1 spot.
In fact, in that time, he only ONCE played every game in the season – limited to just 132 appearances.
Even when he was handed the role between the sticks, he was often the subject of fan criticism.
After two years on loan at Roma, Arsenal eventually sold Szczesny to Juventus.
There, he has won three Serie A titles and been the epitome of consistency and even kept legendary stopper Gianluigi Buffon out of the team for a while.
DONYELL MALEN
THE Dutch star is starting to give off real Gnabry vibes…
Malen, 24, spent two years at the Gunners between 2015 and 2017 but never made it out of the youth ranks.
The forward moved back to Holland to join PSV Eindhoven and quickly became one of the hottest properties in Europe.
Malen scored 55 times in just 115 games, earning himself his Holland debut before moving to Borussia Dortmund two years ago.
The ex-Gunners ace has replaced Erling Haaland as the leading striker at the German giants after just five goals in his debut season in the new-Manchester City striker’s shadow.
His second season saw him net 10 goals in all comps as Dortmund came agonisingly close to ending Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga domination.
And with two in two this season so far, he may be about to take a giant leap forward.
At this trajectory, he could haunt Arsenal fan’s dreams for more than a decade.
GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST
AFTER starring at Rangers, Dutch international Van Bronckhorst was signed by Wenger in 2001 for a fee of £8m.
He was signed as the replacement for the departing Emmanuel Petit to partner Patrick Vieira in Arsenal’s engine room.
However, a cruciate ligament injury saw him on the treatment room after just a few months at the club.
He returned but Wenger struggled to find his best position, with Van Bronckhorst alternating between midfield and left-back.
In 2003, he was loaned to Barcelona, where he went on to make 155 appearances, won two La Liga titles and a Champions League – beating Arsenal 2-1 in the 2006 final.
Van Bronckhorst later appeared in the 2010 World Cup final for Holland.
In 2021 he was appointed manager of former club Rangers.
However, he was sacked from the role in November 2022.