Arsenal have handed a first professional contract to German youth international Serge Gnaby after impressing manager Arsene Wenger in his first year with the club.

The 17-year-old made the move to north London last summer after being spotted playing in the youth set-up of Bundesliga side VFB Stuttgart and was convinced to continue his football education with Arsenal.

He has since gone on to impress for the Arsenal youth team, managed by Steve Bould, and last season was handed the opportunity to play in the reserves which was filled with talented players on the brink of first team football.

Serge Gnarby
Arsenal hand first professional contract to Serge Gnarby

"Everyone at Arsenal would like to congratulate Serge on his first professional contract and looks forward to his continued progression with the club," read a statement on the Arsenal website.

The attacking midfielder scored six goals in just eight appearances for the Under-18 side last season before being promoted to the reserve side where he again showed his eye for goal with two goals in six games.

Wenger has often looked to promote from within and last season handed opportunities to a number of youth team graduates with the likes of Francis Coquelin, Kieran Gibbs and Ignasi Miquel all handed the chance to impress.

The French boss has never been afraid to hand his young players the chance to shine in the first team as Wojciech Szczesny has proved by going on to become the clubs number one goalkeeper.

ack Wilshere is another come through the Arsenal academy and establish himself as a first team regular, something that Gnaby will be hoping to emulate in the coming years.

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