Last season was one to forget for Arsenal’s #3, Kieran Gibbs. After understudying Gael Clichy for many years, Gibbs got his breakthrough when the French defender departed to Manchester City but due to his fitness problems and Armand Traore certainly not good enough for the club, Arsene Wenger signed Andre Santos in that last minute transfer trolley dash in 2011. Things didn’t pan out so well for the Brazilian attacking fullback, making the Gunners take a punt at Malaga’s Nacho Monreal.
Monreal has grown from strength to strength at the club, at the expense of the English fullback, and Gibbs was reduced to just 15 Premier League appearances last season, with just a handful as substitute appearances. Unlike Matt Debuchy that was clearly vocal about his lack of regular game time at the club, Gibbs took a silent approach and did his thing when his services were required on the pitch.
Early in the summer, the Express published a piece of Liverpool gearing up to make a bid for Gibbs but it never materialized. Gibbs’ reps didn’t confirm or deny the news and the defender traveled with the squad for the tour of USA and featured in a couple of games.
According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal has rejected a loan move for Gibbs from West Ham. The Hammers are desperate to sign a new left back after it was confirmed that Cresswell was going to be out for close to five months with a knee injury. The piece also states that the Hammers are considering moves for Norwich’s Martin Olsson, Hull’s Andrew Robertson and FC Copenhagen’s Ludwig Augustinsson.
Gibbs has spent a decade in the club and at 26, he’s at the point in his career where he would preferred to play regular football. It’s evident that he missed out on a place in England’s Euro 2016 squad because he didn’t play enough games for his club and when you think of the fact that the two players ahead of Gibbs in the yesteryear, Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw, didn’t feature, it must have hurt the fullback.
With the Gunners rejecting the move from West Ham, Gibbs is going to be here for the time being. I’m sure he’s focused on having a good preseason with the club and he would fight to return to the starting XI, unlike a certain Debuchy that is edging closer to the exit door.
