Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs is considering pushing his club to allow him to leave.
The left-back has lost his battle with Nacho Monreal for a first-team role under Arsene Wenger, and having picked up less than 400 match minutes in the league last term, is heavily considering his future.
Gibbs is yet to start a single game for the club this season either, and after having been claimed to be willing to run down the two years remaining on his contract, he is now said to be looking to push through an exit, unless there is a rapid rise in first-team action.
The 26 year-old was no doubt denied a chance to make the England squad for the European Championship this summer by a lack of football, and having been in-and-out of the international squad over the years, he will certainly want to nail down a place over the next two years.
Gibbs has been with the club since leaving Wimbledon at 15 upon their reshaping into MK Dons, and has only spent half a season out on loan with Norwich City in 2008.
The defender has picked up over 100 appearances in the league for the Gunners, but it appears his time has come to leave the club in order to further his career.
He was one of the players I had expected to leave the club this summer, with Arsenal linked with potential replacements in Celtic’s Keiran Tierney, Leicester’s Ben Chilwell and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon.
The latter made his first-team debut last month, and at 16, could well be the long-term future replacement for Monreal, who is now 30. Sessegnon has been strongly linked with a number of clubs however, and there will likely be a number of teams vying for his signature in the coming transfer windows.
Is there any future for Gibbs at Arsenal? Should we sign Celtic’s Tierey, or one of the less experienced Sessegnon or Chilwell?