Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry has been selected for Germany's Olympic football squad for the upcoming Rio Olympics.
Gnabry is among the 18 man squad picked by coach Horst Hrubesch, a squad which balances raw talent with experienced German internationals.
The tournament in Rio De Janeiro runs from 4-20 August, meaning Gnabry will miss out on Arsenal's pre-season preparations and be unavailable for the Gunner's first few fixtures. He joins the likes of Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and French duo Oliver Giroud and Laurent Koscielny who are all likely to miss Arsenal's first few games.
The young German initially featured in the 2013/14 season but has not played for Arsenal since March 2014 after a season ending knee injury ruled him out of 2014/15.
Gnabry travelled on loan to West Brom in the 2015/16 seaspm and had an uneventful spe;; on loan at Tony Pulis' side where the German only made a handful of appearances.
Arsenal's German winger has played at every international level for Germany bar the senior side. He currently has seven Under 21 appearances and has just one goal to his name.
Balance of youth and experience
Gnabry is the only Premier League based player included in the squad. Hrubesch has picked Lars and Sven Bender and SC Freiburg's Nils Petersen for his designated three over 23-year-old players.
Borussia Dortmund defender and Germany international Matthias Ginter has been called up with exciting prospects Timo Horn, Max Meyer and Julian Brandt.
Upon the squad announcement, Hrubesch commented how important the Olympics will be for his players and how strong his squad is.
"We have a good mix of current U21 players and older players in the team," said the head coach. "Despite the difficult decision of who to nominate, the squad is of a very high quality. I am happy for every individual and I am sure that plenty is possible with these lads."