Arsene Wenger says he has always believed in Serge Gnabry, and the winger only chose to leave Arsenal after being "manipulated behind the scenes" by Bayern Munich.
Gnabry was handed his Arsenal first team debut by Wenger in 2012 but went on to make only 10 Premier League appearances for the Gunners before leaving to join Werder Bremen in 2016.
The winger then moved to Bayern Munich the following season and has since forced his way into the starting XI at the Allianz Arena, including a starring role in the 7-2 win against Arsenal's bitter rivals Spurs, and is also a regular in the German national team.
Wenger says he did not want to sell Gnabry, but Bayern were making covert moves to try and encourage the young star to leave London.
"We tried to extend his contract for a very long time and I think that Bayern manipulated behind the scenes, that if he went to Bremen he would join Bayern after," Wenger told beIN SPORTS .
"He was always a very talented boy who lacked confidence in some stages, but we always thought we had a player who could achieve a lot.
"He came back from a very bad experience [on loan] at West Brom where his confidence was destroyed. I tried to rebuild him because I believed in him."
Despite the winger's success since leaving the Emirates, Wenger believes the 24-year-old needs to improve his consistency if he is to be considered one of the world's best players.
"A top-level career is consistency, if you look at the players that dominate our sport it's the ones that show huge consistency and that's what is at stake."
Wenger is now the outright favourite to take charge of Bayern Munich until the end of the season, following the departure of Niko Kovac.
The Bundesliga champions confirmed Kovac's departure after a surprise 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend, following a mutual agreement from both parties.
And according to German outlet Bild, Wenger is 'open' to taking over in Munich on a short term basis, and has contacted the club to tell them to 'stand by'.
The report claims the incentive of finishing his managerial career by winning a final league title greatly appeals to the former Arsenal head coach.
