27 January 2023 , 22:25
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Serge Gnabry has been dropped to the bench for Bayern Munich's next fixture after leaving Germany to attend Paris Fashion Week.
The former Arsenal winger has also received a dressing-down from Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, who branded his behaviour "amateurish". The Bundesliga only resumed on 20 January after its winter break but Gnabry, 27, landed himself in hot water by travelling to the French capital to visit the star-studded spectacle last weekend.
The Germany international took to social media to upload photos of himself wearing designer gear from luxury labels including Gucci, Balenciaga and KidSuper. Gnabry's trip to Paris came after last Friday's 1-1 with draw RB Leipzig - Bayern's closest challengers in the top flight - and before their 1-1 draw with Koln on Tuesday.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann initially appeared eager to draw a line under Gnabry's visit to Paris Fashion Week, insisting his player can "do whatever he wants in his free time". However, a second draw in five days has led to increased scrutiny, with Leipzig closing the gap at the top to just one point with a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart, albeit having played one more game.
Gnabry has been substituted off in both of Bayern's fixtures since the restart and Nagelsmann views Kingsley Coman as more deserving of a start when Eintracht Frakfurt come calling at Allianz Arena on Saturday evening.
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"[Gnabry] had the chance to show a reaction against Koln," Nagelsmann told reporters on Friday. "Against Koln, he was not outstanding, so it is clear that this [the trip to Paris] is magnified by the media. We had a good chat and I explained him my view of things and I told him the substitution against Koln was not because of the Paris trip but performance-related. We have a player [Coman] on the bench and he has done really well and he will start tomorrow."
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Serge Gnabry will be on the bench as Bayern Munich host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening (AFP via Getty Images)While Nagelsmann has been diplomatic following Gnabry's foray to France, Salihamidzic took a much sterner view of things, telling German news agency dpa: "That is amateurish. It's exactly what I don't like. It's not Bayern Munich to go messing around when you have a day off. A day off is meant to be for resting yourself so that you can push on in the next game."
Although he is not flavour of the month in Bavaria, Gnabry is enjoying another successful season in the Bayern attack. He has scored nine goals and registered seven assists in all competitions, helping the German giants keep their treble hopes firmly intact.
Gnabry joined Bayern from Werder Bremen in 2017, one year after returning to his homeland from Arsenal. He has gone on to win four Bundesligas, two DFB-Pokal titles and the Champions League in 2020.