Gnabry Set for Return as Saibari Faces Pressure
Vincent Kompany is about to get one of his biggest weapons back. Serge Gnabry is closing in on a full return – and the clock may already be ticking for Ismael Saibari.
The 31-year-old winger has steadily ramped up his workload over the past days. After cautiously rejoining parts of team training last week, Gnabry completed the full session at the start of this week and, by all accounts, looked sharp and physically ready. After months on the sidelines, the Bayern attacker is suddenly back in the matchday conversation.
Gnabry has not played since April. An adductor injury wiped out the end of Bayern’s season and cost him his place at the World Cup with Germany. Now, according to Bild, he could already be included in the squad for Thursday’s Champions League opener against Bodö/Glimt at the Allianz Arena.
A start from the off would still be a surprise. But the dynamic in attack is already shifting.
Saibari’s place in the firing line
The player most directly affected? Ismael Saibari.
Bayern brought the Moroccan in from PSV Eindhoven last summer for just under €55 million including bonuses, a sizeable outlay for a player expected to feature heavily. Kompany has trusted him early: Saibari started both the 4-1 DFB Cup win over VfL Osnabrück and the goalless draw away to newly promoted Schalke 04.
But in both games, the same picture: an early hook. Saibari was withdrawn after around half an hour each time, a clear sign that the coaching staff are not yet getting what they need from him over 90 minutes.
The start of the Bundesliga campaign told a different story. Coming off the bench in the 5-1 win against VfB Stuttgart, Saibari managed two goal involvements and looked lively between the lines. Since then, though, his attacking output has stalled. No direct goal contribution since that opening flourish, and the scrutiny has grown louder.
Dietmar Hamann has already put him under the microscope. The former Bayern midfielder and current Sky pundit called Saibari a “wonderful footballer”, but then twisted the knife: “He is too slow. He's not just not quick, he's like a poor Kane. Kane is not the quickest and now his back-up is not the quickest either.”
Hamann does not buy the idea of Saibari as a multi-role solution. “They say Saibari can play four positions – I say he can play exactly one position: that is behind Kane, because out wide he is too slow,” he argued, before drawing a direct comparison that will sting in Munich’s dressing room. In the No 10 role, he sees “Serge Gnabry a class better” than Bayern’s new signing.
Once Gnabry is fully fit, that is the battle line. One of the club’s most proven attackers on one side, a big-money newcomer still searching for rhythm on the other. The margin for error is shrinking fast.
Familiar face with the whistle
While the debate rumbles on in attack, Bayern’s Champions League campaign begins with a small piece of comfort on the officiating front.
Rade Obrenovic has been appointed to referee Thursday’s group-stage opener against Bodö/Glimt. The Slovenian is no regular at Bayern games – he has handled the German record champions only once so far – but that one evening went very much their way.
Last season, Obrenovic took charge of Bayern’s 2-0 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise, a result that sealed their place in the round of 16. He awarded two penalties to Bayern that night. Harry Kane converted one and missed the other. Obrenovic also showed Min-Jae Kim a second yellow card, reducing Bayern to ten men. All of those calls stood up to scrutiny.
So Bayern walk into the new Champions League season with a referee they know, a competition they crave, and an attack about to be reshuffled.
If Gnabry hits the ground running, how long can Saibari hold that spot behind Kane?
