According to ESPN, Arsenal have rewarded youngster Serge Gnabry with a new long term contract, after the 18-year old produced outstanding performances when called upon by the senior squad.

The Gunners have begun the current Barclays Premier League campaign with finesse, proving their abilities in every match. What began as a dismal first home fixture against Aston Villa which saw them lose to Paul Lambert’s side, Arsenal have now emerged as the new title favorites, and sit comfortably at the top of the table. Wenger will be delighted at the impact of summer arrival Mesut Ozil, with the German international as the perfect stimulus for their success so far. This success has given the youngsters at the club a fresh incentive to work hard to get into the senior squad of a side that is finally a title favorite. There will be a fear in the minds of the supporters for the future of Gnabry, as not all youngsters have made it big at the Emirates Stadium, with Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Frimpong examples of players who have yet to play to their strengths on a consistent basis. On the other side, there are players like Kieran Gibbs, who have made it to the big time with consistent spells in the senior team.

Wenger is known to be a manager who enhances the performances of the youngsters at the club’s youth academy, and once again, Gnabry is testament to that perception. The youngster bagged his first goal for the senior side this season against Swansea City, to the delight of the Arsenal faithful. His career began as a youth player at Stuttgart, and he was bought by Arsenal in 2011 for a reported fee of £100,000. After spending just a year in the youth academy at the London based club, he grabbed the attention of the officials in the under-18 fixtures. Since 2012, he has made 4 appearances for the Gunners. On the international front, he has represented Germany in all youth squads, giving him a chance of a run in the senior squad in the near future.