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.