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With the arrival of Peter Cech in goal, our defence for next season looks extremely strong. The solid Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker pairing are the likely first-choice centre backs with Gabriel and Calum Chambers in support.
Hector Bellerin – after an excellent breakout season – will push the unlucky Mathieu Debuchy all the way for a first team slot at right back. One position though where we might need to address is left-back.
Gibbs has been at the club since 2004 and has been a fine and dependable defender for us. Fast, strong, tenacious and a popular character with fans and players, he is a good player who has been unlucky with injuries. He hasn’t quite ever managed to make the position his own or push on at national level, but at 25 he still has a bright future at the club.
Monreal, seen by many when he first signed as a ‘weak link’, has improved significantly and is largely underrated. He played well last season but it remains to be seen whether he can continue at this level when fighting for the domestic and European title as must be the aim next season.
With our ambitions now firmly on challenging for trophies on all fronts do we now need to start looking to sign a new left back?
It’s arguably the hardest position to fill with world class talent and the transfer fees paid reflect it – just look at Luke Shaw. A decent prospect but signed at hugely unjustifiable wages. Arsene is far too financially cautious to spend that on a prospect.
There are a few attainable options for the here and now on the market that could make a difference: Fabio Coentrao at Real Madrid, Juan Camilo Zuniga of Napoli, Marcel Schmelzer at Dortmund, Rodriguez at Wolfsburg to name a few. They are all players who are constantly linked with top clubs and would likely all be more than willing to move to the Emirates.
In all likelihood though with the transfer funds going elsewhere this season Arsene is likely to wait at least a year before splashing out in this position.
Gibbs is fast and strong but he can’t or haven’t got the confidence to kick the ball with the right foot; consequently 90% of his passes are backwards. That kind of play breaks often the momentum of Arsenal team attacks. Furthermore, Gibbs tends to leave his flank exposed and Alexis has more than often to track back, thus the Arsenal attack capabilty is reduced. Hence in my opinion the left back position needs to be re-enforced to give Gibbs time to learn to play football with the right foot. Both Walcots and Rambo have improved a great deal in kicking the ball with the left foot and scoring with same; so does J Wilshire kicking and scoring with his right foot. I think Gibbs can improve his game by learning to kick the ball with his right foot ; he would become one day a good footballer.