What Next For Kieran Gibbs?
Oct 12th, 2016 by 'holic
What should have been a break to recharge the batteries in Dubai was cut short when Kieran Gibbs got the call to join the England squad ahead of their match in Slovenia due to a hamstring injury sustained by Ryan Bertrand. In the end Danny Rose was fit to start and Kieran spent the evening on the bench.
It isn’t lost on anybody how close Gibbo is to the England left-back berth, but as long as he is the back-up at Arsenal then that is all he can expect to be with the national team. It’s difficult not to feel some sympathy for a loyal, but injury-prone, club servant. Bertrand probably is the pick of the English left-backs at the moment, but given regular football it is likely that the Arsenal man would be preferred to the erratic Rose.
Therein lies the issue. When Nacho Monreal arrived from Malaga in January 2013 he played second fiddle to Gibbo, and has confessed himself it took him a while to settle into the Premier League. Eighteen months after arriving Nacho was afforded a run in the side as an emergency central defender. Monreal took the chance with both hands. Such was his improvement in form and confidence that once Laurent Koscielny was fit Nacho was retained at Gibbs’ expense. At the end of the season I got to meet Nacho and asked him about his relationship with Kieran.
“For me he’s a really good player, but he’s also a very good person. Obviously he’s my ‘opponent’. We’re fighting for the same thing…for me, I consider him a friend. If I can help him, I do it of course.”
Since then Nacho has enjoyed stellar form last season, and rightly remained the incumbent. One rumour in the summer suggested that Arsenal had rejected an offer by West Ham to take Kieran on loan for the season. That would have been understandable, and with the benefit of hindsight the player may consider that he dodged a bullet by not going.
Once again this season so far Kieran has had to accept his role as the man sent on to seal up the left flank in the second-half of tight affairs. He has looked to be recovering some form and confidence when he has done so, and with Nacho having a couple of difficult matches Arsene now has an interesting decision facing him. Nacho is 31 in February, Kieran is just 27 and should be reaching his prime. The Gunners are unlikely to part with him in January, but may not want to risk losing an international defender next summer.
The Lambeth-born Gibbs will surely start against Reading in the current incarnation of the League Cup. He has to produce an eye-catching performance which might lead to him getting further opportunities. Underused for nearly two years now, his body is better prepared for the regular grind of first-team football. His time may be coming.
All of which ensures that Nacho Monreal will have to fight even harder, and play even better, to keep his younger challenger at bay and maybe seeking a future elsewhere?
21 Responses to “What Next For Kieran Gibbs?”
He has never really convinced me. At first he picked up too many injuries to properly challenge or adequately replace Gael Clichy. Then when Clichy left, he looked a lightweight. Monreal has justified his starting place and whenever Gibbs has deputised he has not done nearly enough to challenge. His passing is too conservative, opting time and time again to go backward of square, and he is much too reluctant to push the ball down the line and take on the defender before cutting in or crossing. He is OK as backup in a squad but to see him photographed in an England shirt just reminds me how dire the national team’s options are.
Evening H
You’ve got to be a street fighter to be a full back,Gibbo was more like a harmless busker,singing for his supper.
Look at the 2 best left backs we have had over the past couple of decades.
Winterburn and Cashley.
What did they have in common.?
No winger ever got past them on the outside,or if they did,it only happened once.
They both intimidated their wingers.
So much so,you knew they were beat when they started trying to go inside rather than get the shit kicked out of trying to go outside.
Then of course they admitted defeat and tried to swop wings with their opposite number.
As with the mad Jens in goal,we never replaced Cashley with a like for like.
I would argue that if we had done that with both those positions,we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about a decade or more without a PL title.
We seem a bit thin on the ground when it comes to left backs and there doesn’t seem to be anyone coming up through the junior ranks who is considered a sufficient prospect that Gibbs could be allowed to leave in January. There have been rumours for a while that we have been scouting young left backs, Tierney at Celtic being the latest, which suggests that Marc Bola, the U-21s’ left back, is not seen as a new Bellerin (although I am not sure that Bellerin was seen as a new Bellerin at a comparable stage in his career, and there is a worry that he, too, might be off before long.) Alternatively the Corporal could play left back at a pinch once he is back to full fitness.
Agree with 1, 2 and 3 above, but Gibbs is also a doubly useful bench player, not only as the natural LB replacement but as a LW replacement when we’re looking to defend a lead late in a game but still want an attacking option.
Kieran Gibbs is in the position of many players in the Premiership. Does he trade a peripheral position in the Arsenal squad where he is a sprained ankle or medial ligament strain away from regular football in a top four side ( whose status is sufficient to see him chosen for England even if not in the first team) , for regular appearances with a lesser club? West Ham, are an obvious example of somewhere he could land although West Ham actually have a very good left- back indeed in Cresswell, who is unfortunately seriously injured at present.
I guess he probably earns £40-50 k a week and gets to travel with the squad and play a fill- in role. I’ve never felt Gibbs pushed himself enough.He is a real talent going forward but he lacks the defensive nous of Nacho and the gentlemen that Clive mentioned. Sadly he is one of the generation of British players who are slightly underperforming and combine this with long periods on the sidelines injured. If Theo has metaphorically kicked himself up the arse ( still not persuaded) maybe he could persuade his mate to do the same thing . He needs to push himself as far as he can at a pivotal period of his career.
Interesting piece, ‘Holic and one that has me counting the hours until the return of “proper football”.
Thank you for allowing me to put forward a daft suggestion in the previous bar, and thanks to all who took the trouble to read and comment upon it. Before consigning it to the dustbin of history that it so justly deserves, please allow me a couple more paragraphs…
I came up with the idea while trying to think of a way to get rid of these damnable Intralulls. The obvious means, and one which is often put forward is to do away with international football. Whilst I wouldn’t be unhappy if that were to happen, I think it’s highly unlikely as many non-football fans follow the fortunes of their national teams, and many consider selection for their national team to be the ultimate acknowledgement of a player’s talent. As ever, I reached for the opposite extreme – a massive extension of international football, to the extent that club football would have to continue at the same time. I tried to think through the issues that this would raise and likely ways in which they might be resolved. I came up with a system that I wasn’t terribly happy with, but one which I thought was nearly workable and I presented it for potshots to be taken.
The major objection that emerged was that there would be a serious impact on many clubs. My proposal that those clubs be financially compensated was met with scepticism as to whether all those who would need to offer compensation would be in a position to do so. I accept these criticisms happily.
Since the two extreme solutions – no international football, and loads of international football – seem to be unlikely or unworkable, it seems that we will be left with the current compromise wherein “proper football” is disrupted for the best part of a fortnight four times a season (as far as I remember, surely it’s not even more :prays:).
Once again thanks to the Guvnah for giving me a platform and to the drinkers who haven’t run me off it with pointed sticks.
COYG
Thanks Holic, and Pangloss, for two wonderful articles.
And here’s another great read from Mr Stillman:
http://arseblog.com/2016/10/arsene-wenger-like-dad/
Thanks, Holic,
may the light of sparkling debate light up your bar, and up yours Pangloss too !
Regarding Mr Gibbs, King Henry sums it up for me @1.
Doesn’t really have quite enough of anything for an Arsenal team and too often shows a lack of awareness with his positioning.
Never any pleasure in an Arsenal youngster failing to make the grade but I don’t think he will.
Tim Stillman said the words that everyone should hear-“I respect him as a human being more than as a manager”. I think that sums it all up. The man epitomises grace, class, standards and stubbornness in equal measure but in the end, he does all that with dignity.
What next for gibbo? sorry, I do not see him as a first teamer, if he wants to have a fulfilling career, he needs to look somewhere else.
Cheers H!
I like Gibbo, but he’s a converted winger and it shows. Mind you so was Cuntley Cole. Its a shame a mutual acquaintance of Dave and myself no longer posts on here. She would definitely have had an opinion.
Good stuff Guvna and excellent discussion on KG3. I like him as he seems a nice young man, cares about the Arsenal and gives everything in every game even though many fans want more from him.
He is exactly as others have described: a converted winger and far too nice to be an effective full back. He doesn’t have the nasty streak that makes less gifted footballers such as Neville a more effective defender. However he cannot change his nature.
Nevertheless he is an excellent squad player, far too good for the likes of the Spammers and provided he is happy with his lot, I am happy he remains our back-up/alternative to Nacho.
Bit off topic but has anyone else read Ian Wright’s bio ?
Only about 100 pages in and it’s absolutely fascinating – some really interesting stories about the Graham / Rioch / Wenger “transfer of power” seasons that I had not heard before…Despite the signing of Bergkamp, Rioch comes across like a bit of a fool to be honest…
Piebury Corner had some signed books up for grabs in compettitions etc – don’t know if they are all gone yet though…
The other factor to weigh in Gibbs’s decision about whether to leave is where he could go where he would be an automatic first choice. There doesn’t appear to be a club in the top half of the Premiership right now where he would be a sufficient upgrade on the incumbent left back to displace him. So he wouldn’t be any better off in terms of playing time by moving in those circumstances than staying at Arsenal.
Realistically, unless he moved abroad, he is looking at a bottom half of the table team, with the risk of relegation to take into account. Now he is into the second half of his 20s, well-paid cameos at Arsenal may seem preferable to the prospect of hacking it week in week out in the Championship.
Nacho is 30 now, three and a half years older than Gibbs, and with two and two-thirds seasons left on his contract. Gibbs might think it is worth hanging on where he is for a season and two-thirds, reckoning that Nacho will be sold when he is 32 with a season left on his contract. Gibbo will then still only be 28 so with perhaps four good seasons left in him, and no youngsters seemingly coming up behind.
Gibbs is too light weight and is easily shrugged off the ball and in the physically demanding EPL he quite often looks to be struggling. His positioning sense leaves a lot to be desired. He has a mistake in him in every game and I used to dread his being named in the playing eleven. On the plus side, he alongwith Theo, Jenkinson and Ox, is out and out Arsenal. He has good pace and has improved over the years. Is a good back up for Monreal but I doubt he will be number one for the position even after Monreal retires because he is too nice and not strong enough physically or mentally. The fact that his direct competitor for his position calls him a friend says it all.
At this moment in time, Nacho is some way ahead of Gibbo as a left back. But a good run of games coupled with the added incentive of proving that you belong to the starting eleven could well do the trick for Gibbs. I have always felt that he has never fulfilled his potential. Injuries ofcourse have played a major part in that.
When Monreal came in and was struggling to adapt to the league, I have to admit that I felt Gibbs was the better choice of the two. Credit to Monreal for turning his game around massively and I wouldn’t put it beyond Gibbs to do the same.
He is just at the age where players suddenly realise that it is ‘now or never’ territory as far as playing for a high profile club is concerned. They realise that otherwise they could spend the final 4 or 5 years of their career at a much inferior club. This realisation often triggers a late bloom in their careers and I hope that is certainly the case with Gibbo. He is a proper Gunner and I am glad he stayed on this summer.
Interestingly enough Gibbs has featured in two very pivotal and memorable moments for Arsenal in recent years. One was in the FA Cup final of 2014 when he made a solid goal line clearance to prevent the score from being 3-0 in favour of Hull. The second was in the final game of the 2012 season when he made a fantastic block in the six yard box against West Brom to prevent a certain equaliser. It was a must win game for us to finish 4th and we did exactly that. Fantastic moments both.
Well remembered on those two moments Desi. I had forgotten them. Both of those moments delivered an important impact on each season.
I too hope that he has a Damascene experience that makes him Nacho’s successor in the next couple of years.
Hmmmm. It wasn’t that long ago when the majority here had Gibbs as their preferred LB ahead of Nacho, with myself and Dr F copping flak for suggesting Nacho should have the job. How times change…
NDR@12
I almost bought a house three years ago that Rioch lived in for many years in Norfolk. The then owner was a Gooner and we spent most of the visit ( to a stunning property) and to my wife’s disgust , talking about Bruce and his run- ins with Wright, Merson and Adams among others.
There is a very different version of events but Rioch agreed a huge pay- off not to reveal his side of the story.
Much as I loved Wrighty as a player he was by no means a perfect clubman and although Rioch found the job too big for him, Bergkamp, for example, apparently speaks very highly of Rioch. Wenger inherited a very cantankerous bunch and it is one of his achievements that he turned them into Double winners within two years.
Thanks for the Stillman article Joe. Great stuff and as moving in its way as the US interview with Wenger circulated recently. He is a remarkable man who is a giant among current managers in his principles and intellect
Gibbo has always been one of these players that I have always wanted to succeed. Sadly, like most I think he is just a bit short. I have often even ndrer what he would be like now if he had the opportunity of a sustained run in the team.
The club have always stuck by him whenever he had spent one of many occasions in the treatment room. He has also remained loyal and is a great player to have in the squad and on the bench. I would love to see him make that final step but again, like most, I just don’t see it.
Without wishing to rake over the coals we had a spirited debate here re Ched Evans and I felt he had served his time and deserved to return to football. In the light of the new verdict it underlines the need to be totally certain that rape is rape and to appreciate that the man, who may have not behaved well is still some way short of being a rapist.
It always looked a highly unsound verdict to me
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