Moritz Voltz is a man who is very well known amongst the Arsenal faithful and Arsenal footballing fraternity. He was the Gunners’ scout between years 2015 and 2019 and is currently the assistant manager at TSG Hoffenheim. You may ask how a former scout has managed to make the news now. Well, the now assistant manager has managed to make the news by speaking about one of his scouting products, Serge Gnabry. A common player who has shared both the Arsenal and Bayern Munich dressing rooms. As we are done with the much-awaited fixture of Arsenal vs Bayern Munich, we’ll have to go back to before the game to get to Voltz’s statements.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Serge Gnabry
Voltz did not particularly talk too much about the fixture between Arsenal and Bayern Munich itself. He talked more about Serge Gnabry. Gnabry is someone who was one of those “could’ve been” players during his time at North London. A direct product of Arsenal’s scouting system, which was led by Voltz himself, got hold of him from VFB Stuttgart for their academy. This happened in 2011. Back then, it was really talked about around the footballing fraternity. Gnabry looked promising. Arsenal looked promising. And Arsene Wenger is known to convert promising into performances.
However, as most “could’ve beens” have been over the years, the whole Gnabry project somehow did not fully materialise. โThey were certainly a little annoyed, especially immediately after Serge left,โย Voltz started off, referring to Arsenal. โBut he wasnโt under-appreciated. He made his first professional appearances early on, and they were good. Then came injuries that slowed his momentum a bit. And ultimately, it wasnโt Arsenal who said he couldnโt make it, but he himself who said, โI see a different path for myselfโ. And thatโs how it turned out,โ Voltz stated.
Despite him majorly talking about how Gnabry at Arsenal was a failed project, he did not miss out on praising him as well. โThe great thing is: You canโt overlook a quality like Gnabryโs โ and thatโs how he still made it to the very top,โ he finished. It was true, though, as Gnabry did not sulk on the failure at Arsenal. He made the move to Werder Bremen in 2016, and then immediately a year later, made the massive Bayern move.
At Bayern, he was nothing less than extraordinary. He still continues to play a part in the team. He continues to turn up and contribute through any given role, a quality very few players possess nowadays.
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Oh what an absolute box-office of a match-up. It was one of those games, you just wouldn’t like to miss as a football fan. The hype was everywhere, with people calling it โthe unstoppable force meets an immovable objectโ and all that. And honestly, the game lived up to it. No letdowns, just pure drama from start to finish. It was really one of those match-ups. However, Arsenal somehow managed to dominate the German giants. You don’t quite get to use these statements AGAINST Bayern Munich. As they are always the ones to dominate.
Furthermore, this season’s Bayern have been even better than the usual, dominant Bayern side. With 12 consecutive, authoritative victories this season. And despite all of this, Arsenal treated the game like a cakewalk. They absolutely smashed Bayern 3-1. Arsenal winning isn’t necessarily a massive surprise. But winning in a dominant fashion is definitely something one wouldn’t have seen coming.
Conclusion
Moritz Voltz really took us on a trip back in time by reminiscing about the Serge Gnabry days at Arsenal. Arsenal fans surely would’ve had mixed emotions getting reminded about a player and talent they lost. However, there is certainly going to be no mixed emotions about their massive Champions League win against Bayern Munich.
