His latest chance to impress Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal fans may have come about due to the supposedly minor muscle injury picked up by the usual first choice left back Nacho Monreal, but I think that Kieran Gibbs was already knocking on the door and so his impressive performance in the 4-1 win at Sunderland may well see the Spanish defender lose his place in the side for a while.
It would seem very harsh to me if Gibbs is not in the starting line-up when Arsenal face local rivals Tottenham in the north London derby next weekend. Whether he starts against Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League on Tuesday is another matter.
If Monreal is fit enough I would not be surprised to see him start in midweek but he will need a brilliant performance to oust Gibbs in my opinion. For me it is not just Gibbs’ recent games that have earned him this chance either, but his great attitude in what must have been a tough time out of the side for him.
Now he has this chance and with another international break just around the corner, I reckon he will be super motivated to do well and remind the England boss Gareth Southgate what he can do, because if he is the first choice for Arsenal as we are doing so well, should he not also be ahead of the other England options like Rose and Bertrand? Has Gibbs’ time finally come?
Bob.
the answer is no!!!…he can’t be the first for England,Rose is better obviously !!!…for arsenal he should take his time,he might overtake Monreal…but for now ,he should be satisfied with his game time
Play the most in form at any time not name.
so gibbs is in form than rose?….sentiments will do you no good
It was not meant to be a reply @Tothelinguist but acomment on the article.
Am not concerned about England (as am not from there) bur Arsenal as an ardent fan.
I mean Arsenal should play our most inform players for the league as we cannot take any team for granted.
For now GD is the difference between us and City, so we play our hearts out in every game and score as many goals as possible until we can give unassailable gap.
To be honest Monreal has not been playing well since the beginning og the season. Perhaps he has spme personal problems or lack of fitness, but he has been a weak point for us. I say keep Gibbs.
I think he should be given a run in d XI not just cos he did well but cos Monreal is in bad form now.
OT:Just saying, could you try a 3 4 3 formation with this Arsenal squad,Assume you want to rest Ozil…
Check
Holding Kos Mustafi
Bellerin Coq Carziola Monreal
Walcot Sanchez Iwobi/Ox also you can take be more defensive/rest your full backs with…
Check
Holding Kos Mustafi
Coquelin Carzola Xhaka Ramsey
Walcot Sanchez Iwobi
Chelsea have never Conceded a goal since they switched to that system…. Just imagine the steel of Coquelin, Xhaka, Carzola and Ramsey all together in Midfield!!!!! But can we afford to drop Ozil?!!!
Competition will push both of them upwards
Competition is a good thing
Its great to have most of our players healthy and competing and improving our team
I see some of you taking a dump on Monreal’s form. And at the same time praising Iwobi, who is part of the reason Nacho’s been gettin skinned down the left flank lately…
Emphasis on the word part. Yes, Iwobi’s bee neglecting defensive duties but Monreal’s been below average anyways: he has lost NUMEROUS duels, he has gone down from a scratch which leaves the flank wide open, and his offensive contribution has been non-existent as well.
Yes, we know Iwobi needs to control himself more. But Monreal’s been in bad form regardless, period.
@J McLovin
Nacho has always been targeted due to his lack of pace. Dude is 30. And him having to cover the left flank, in essence, by himself is unjustified.
When Monreal was coming up against really quick wide players whilst Iwobi having to still learn all of his responsibilities, I think Gibbs should’ve been coming in for those games with all that in mind. Wenger done it a few times before so I don’t know why he stopped esp seeing the trouble we were getting.
Yes I’d stick with Gibbs until Monreal comes back refocused. Gibbs does usually be well up for the London derby, himself Jack and Theo usually step it up a bit in those games even if we were looking a little poor just before that particular game.
The worry I’d have with Gibbs is that he could be a little rusty if he comes up against some really clever play. The utd game it would be best to have Monreal back to his solid best. Problem is his confidence took a knock after the Liv game and then similar happened a few games later. We need Monreal back to his best, even if Gibbs excels we still have our injury concerns.