No Jamal Musiala, no problem! Even without the German superstar, Bayern Munich has enjoyed a perfect start to their season, having won all ten of their matches across all competitions thus far. In addition
to not having dropped a single point thus far, Vincent Kompany’s side have outscored their opponents 38 to 8 and have recorded 4 clean sheets along the way. They’ve done all of this without Musiala or Alphonso Davies; both of whom are still working their way back from long term injuries.
In Bayern’s attack, Serge Gnabry has been one of the German Rekordmeister’s consistent performers that might not have been entirely expected given his struggles with consistency in recent seasons. So far, Gnabry has tallied 3 goals and 4 assists, having also scored for Germany in their recent 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Luxembourg and their 3-1 win over Northern Ireland back in the September international break. The evidence on display thus far suggests that Gnabry is going to have one of his best seasons as a Bayern player, but far too often in the past, we’ve seen these bright glimpses of the attacker, and he’s proceeded to go through bad spells of form or injury spells. Hopefully it’s different this time around.
Nonetheless, Gnabry’s current production has been a much welcome sight for Kompany, who has been without Musiala since his injury against Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup. He’s been able to play as both a winger and secondary striker for Kompany in Musiala’s absence, which is something Gnabry feels has helped him so far this season. “Over the years, I’ve already played as the striker or right behind the striker, however you want to call it, so for me, it is not that new. I try to bring what I can to the role, and I think we as a team are working well together. The midfield with Joshua [Kimmich], Leon [Goretzka] or [Aleksandar] Pavlo[vic] as well. Our principles help us know what to do and we’re having fun. The ball’s rolling and it feels good,” he explained in a recent interview with Bundesliga.com (via @iMiaSanMia).
Perhaps more so than any of the other attacking players in Bayern’s squad, both Musiala and Gnabry possess the ability to play effectively in either a wide or central role tucked in behind Harry Kane. Even Gnabry has played the false 9 or striker’s role for Bayern and Germany in the past, so he already has that familiarity with the tactical positionings when Kompany asks him to occupy a role in and around Kane, especially with how it works with Kane often times dropping deeper to receive possession and play runners in behind.
In an ideal world, Gnabry will continue on with his current level of production all the way through Musiala’s return from injury and for the remainder of the season, however that is absolutely no guarantee.
