Should Monreal stay on the Arsenal bench?

Kieran Gibbs was becoming a bit of a forgotten man at Arsenal, because after spending his entire professional career with the club and becoming a first team regular post Clichy, Gibbs found himself relegated to the bench week in week out when Monreal joined in 2013.

There had been rumours that the English left back had been considering his future at the club this summer, with Liverpool supposedly a side that was interested in signing him. Gibbs however chose to remain at the Emirates and fight for his place in the squad and it seems as if Wenger had confidence in Gibbs to test Monreal for competition. At the start of the season, Gibbs once again found himself as second choice behind Nacho Monreal. The Spaniard had a fantastic past season and has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent defenders of the past few years. However this year he has looked a little off the ball so far, having left the defence vulnerable to attack on a few occasions. As a result, some fans had been calling for him to be dropped from the side and to have Gibbs reinstated. Wenger hadn’t played that card just yet, but he was forced into making the change this weekend against Sunderland, with Monreal currently ruled out with an injury.

Gibbs started the match against Sunderland and was impressive both in defence and attack. He was well focused, strong in the tackle, positioned himself well and even grabbed an assist when pushing up the field to join the attack. He even hit the post late on with a shot that resulted in Alexis scoring his second and Arsenal’s fourth goal of the day. Gibbs was very much praised after the match and as a result I think many fans are now keen for him to keep his place in the side.

Gibbs may not have got his chance this weekend through hard work ahead of Monreal, after all it was only Monreal’s injury that moved Gibbs ahead in the pecking order. As a result it may be quite possibly that on return from injury, Gibbs is dropped and Monreal returns to the starting eleven. However for a player that has been restricted for playing time, Gibbs seems to have remained focused and motivated to make an impression and it really wouldn’t surprise me if he manages to keep his place at left back, even after Monreal returns.

Do you think Gibbs should start against Tottenham?

By AH

5 Comments

  1. Gibbs recovers better in defence when caught out up field and he also threw some crosses in, yes I think it’s now hos place to lose.

    1. The problem with Gibbs is that we cannot rely omn him. He is a very good backup. The boy can play 3 games without a fresh injury. MONREAL always needa a run of games to hit top speed. We remain with monreal with Gibbs backup

  2. i believe gibbs has won the right to start,montreal has not been performing to his best,he,s looked tired and may be in need of a break,and since he,s stepped in gibbs has been pretty good and unless he starts not doing it for the team he deserves the chance to stake a claim for a starting place on top of that since he lost his place to nacho his behaviour has been spot on he didn,t complain,has been patient,very professional .also i disagree i think it,s very unfair to say he didn,t get his chance through hard work,injury or not it was just a matter of time before wenger dropped nacho!!

  3. its not a coincidence that Nachos performances have dropped since Iwobi became a starter…
    I think that he has been our unsung hero for the past few years and nobody has been noticing that hes the most consistent defender of our back four (yes even from Kos)
    Anywayz i was tryin to say that Iwobi might be the reason for his inexperienced aged, so he has a lot to learn about defensive duties…
    Monreal surely deserves credit for his job and should not be slated in no way after for 2-3 bad performances…
    Gibbo should have his chance though… after all its time for him to step up too…
    glad that all of the 2nd string players are evolving and fighting for a spot…
    Thats what you get when u bring quality players in the team….

    1. i was not slamming nacho,i agree he has been one our most constant performer in the last few seasons all i,m saying is that he,s going through a bad patch which happens to every player but it,s only fair gibbs was given a chance ,nothing wrong with healthy competition!!

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors