From Lisbon to Rome and Istanbul, Serge Gnabry has been all over Europe with Bayern in the Champions League. But his favourite destination is definitely England. It’s not just that the country is like a second home for the 29-year-old, having made his senior debut while at Arsenal. Gnabry actually has a very healthy habit of scoring on English soil – more so than anywhere else in Champions League action.
Expecting great atmosphere
“I’m looking forward to playing here,” Gnabry said at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Bayern’s Champions League tie at Aston Villa. He adds that the atmosphere in old stadiums like Villa Park is “amazing”, with people here “living for football”. He added: “It’ll be a tough game. It’s Villa’s first Champions League home game. The place will be rocking.”
The fact that Bayern boast a strong record from their recent visits to Premier League opposition is also in part due to Gnabry. Half of his 16 Champions League goals have come against English opposition, with seven of them coming in England.
“Lots of fun right now”
Gnabry’s only previous competitive meeting with Villa came during his days at Arsenal, who won 2-1 at Villa Park in January 2014, although without a goal from their German forward. If Gnabry has his way, things will be different this time, especially given that he’s now coming with a Bayern side in great form. “We’re very dominant in games. The more chances you have, the more goals you can score. It’s lots of fun right now for us up front.”
That being said, not every trip back to England has gone perfectly for Bayern’s No.7. He did get the equaliser the last time the Bavarians were over there in the 2-2 draw at ex-side Arsenal in last year’s quarter-finals, but he also had to go off with a muscular injury that hampered him for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately, he had to battle with a number of injuries at the back end of last season, but Gnabry insists that he’s now put that bad time behind him. “I worked well in pre-season. My body feels good and I’m looking forward to playing more,” the 29-year-old stated. His current numbers reflect just how good a fully fit Gnabry’s form is. The forward has scored two goals and provided three assists in seven competitive appearances this season, averaging a hand in a goal every 98 minutes he’s on the pitch. He can now improve yet further on those numbers on familiar turf.
Recap all the build-up to the game at Aston Villa here:
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