Bayern Munich’s attack might be the best in the world. Kane, Diaz and Olise have combined for 62 goals in the Bundesliga with just 3 matches left this season. But with Jamal Musiala on the injury table for big parts of the season, one surprising addition to the Bavarians’ attacking unit has been Serge Gnabry.
With Kane enjoying a free-flowing Total Football-inspired role, which sees the Englishman pop up all over the pitch – sometimes even finding himself spraying passes from Bayern’s backline like a quarterback to kick-start their attacks- Gnabry has been able to make the most of the space created and left by his teammates.
But does this make Serge Gnabry a Raumdeuter? And how does he stack up against the original space explorer: Thomas Müller?
Whilst Müller’s success was best reflected in him often leading the assist charts for Bayern, the title of most creative player this season is fulfilled by Michael Olise, who leads the Bundesliga’s assist charts with 19 so far. Still, similarly to Müller, Gnabry has demonstrated an excellent understanding of space and how to utilise it effectively. So how does Gnabry utilise the space he explores?
If providing assists isn’t a fundamental element to the role, the ‘space exploration’ definitely is. Whilst Müller is indeed the original, several other players have been described as having Raumdeuter-eqsue traits due to their exceptional spatial awareness, showcasing their own interpretation of the role.
The 8 goals Gnabry has scored in the Bundesliga this season do resemble the exploits of Dele Alli, who himself was paired up with Kane at Tottenham Hotspurs. Alli would make intelligent runs into space, getting in behind defenders to score.
Gnabry often finds himself at the right place at the right time, and he does this in a variety of ways. In a 4-0 win against Union Berlin, he scored the second goal, after a Joshua Kimmich cross intended for Harry Kane was punched away by Frederik Rønnow. Gnabry converted the dropped ball with a decisive first-time finish.
Against Leipzig, he scored the equaliser in what would be an eventual 5-1 comeback for the Bavarians. With Kane having roamed out of position, Gnabry filled in up top in the Bayern press, which- after Upamecano picked Christoph Baumgartners pocket high up the pitch- led to him coming eye-to-eye with veteran shot stopper Peter Gulácsi.
With Musiala back from injury and Lennart Karl ready to step up when needed, Gnabry’s season-ending injury won’t cost Vincent Kompany any sleep regarding his team sheets.
But with the Champions League semi-final second leg coming up, after last week’s 9-goal thriller at the Parc de Princes, the Munich manager might be missing the luxury of his space explorer if he wants to make it to Budapest on Wednesday.
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