Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Circumstances in football change very quickly despite the best laid of plans. Back in August, I very much doubt that Arsene Wenger thought he would be negotiating the season run in with David Ospina, Héctor Bellerin, Nacho Monreal and Francis Coquelin as virtually un-droppable elements of his team. Louis van Gaal certainly wouldn’t have expected Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao to be kicking their heels on the bench behind Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young. Form and fitness are malleable mistresses that can lay the best laid plans to waste.
One of Arsenal’s most consistent performers in 2015 has been Nacho Monreal and, as a result, Kieran Gibbs has become a peripheral figure. As we know, things can change very quickly, an injury to Nacho and a blast of fine form from Gibbs turns the contest between the two on its head once more. At the beginning of the season, most Arsenal fans would have taken Gibbs ahead of Nacho but the game moves quickly and with it, so do impressions. However, there is a wider question with Gibbs, who turns 26 in September.
Wenger has placed a lot of trust and patience in Gibbs and the question as to whether he has developed to the threshold of his potential must surely be asked. He last signed a contract two and a half years ago, so, in office terms, we’ve reached appraisal stage. The club will be deciding whether to offer him new terms and, with it, will have to make a decision as to how much they value him. This will give the supporters and Gibbs himself the broadest indication of whether Arsene Wenger expects him to be Arsenal’s first choice left-back in the long term.
The whisper on Fleet Street is that Arsenal has begun to renegotiate with the Spaniard already and unless there’s something we don’t know with regards to Gibbs’ situation, this might reveal something about Arsene’s priorities. It is difficult for Kieran at the moment with Monreal in such good form and with the team harbouring some good momentum, chances are going to be few and far between. Not least because we have reached a stage of the season where the Gunners are only playing once a week, so rotation is simply not necessary.
Gibbs was given a run out against Reading in the F.A. Cup semi-final and it’s fair to say he didn’t exactly make Monreal sweat on the sidelines. However, as Nacho himself knows, if you’re not playing regularly, it can be difficult to give the best possible impression of your ability. For Gibbs, injuries have certainly taken their toll on his development, but his fitness record over the last two years is actually pretty good as growing pains have subsided. In 2011-12 he played 22 times, in 2012-13, it was 34 and last season he made 41 appearances.
This season he has clocked up 31 appearances to date but that has to take account of the fact that he has been an unused substitute on many occasions since February due to Monreal’s form. So there has been a linear progression fitness wise and whether he has sufficiently developed into a top class full-back in that time is open to question. Ordinarily, I think Wenger would back him to achieve his potential and give him time to do so. However, contracts are such an aggressive presence in modern day football that these decisions come quickly and regularly. Effectively, every 2-3 years you are constantly reappraising whether to renew someone’s terms and if you have any hesitation, it immediately means you are open to a sale. I don’t think Kieran Gibbs has reached that stage yet, but this time next year, if he is still behind Nacho Monreal in the pecking order, he probably will have.
