The future of defender Kieran Gibbs at Arsenal looks and in doubt with the club yet to open contract negotiations with the player.

The current contract of the left back runs out in less than 18 months. He is one of several players whose future is a doubt. As much as seven players will be out of contract in the summer of 2018, while midfielder Santi Cazorla is out of contract in the summer. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, and Per Mertesacker are some of the big names whose future is under doubt.

At this moment in time, it looks highly unlikely thatGibbs will earn himself a new contract. He has not played much this season. In fact, he has made only 14 appearances in the first six months of the season. Incredibly, there has been only five Premier league appearances for the player. Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin have been the preferred fullbacks for the club.

Gibbs was once viewed as the England first choice left back, but he is now in a position where he cannot even guarantee his position at Arsenal. In order to sustain his place in the England national team, Gibbs would be ready to move away from the Emirates stadium in order to get regular first team football.

Since making his debut for the national team in 2010, Gibbs has featured in only 10 matches. Tottenham full-back Danny Rose is now seen as the default left back for the national team under Gareth Southgate.Gibbs has been at Arsenal since 2007, and he was brought to the club as a youngster from MK Dons on a free transfer. He spent six months on loan at Norwich before coming back to the club to replace Gael Clichy.

Read More

Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs reckons that the club deserved to get at least a draw from the game against Paris St Germain.

The two clubs were involved in a 2-2 draw at the French capital, and the result does not look good for the English outfit considering that they want to top the group. Finishing top of the Champions League group provides the opportunity to have the home game for the return leg while also almost guaranteeing an easy opposition in the knockout stages. Arsenal have suffered immensely as a result of not finishing top group in recent Champions League campaigns.

They are now in danger of finishing second once again after the draw with PSG. Edinson Cavani helped the French club take the lead after just 18 minutes. However, Arsenal managed to achieve a remarkable comeback through Olivier Giroud and Marco Verratti’s own goal. Just when it seemed that Arsenal would come home with an unlikely victory, PSG managed to come back level in terms through an own goal from Iwobi.

Gibbs felt that Arsenal did enough to at least come back with a point from the French capital. Some, though, thought that the club were comprehensively outplayed by the French giants and that a point was a lucky outcome for Arsene Wenger’s team.

“When you’re 2-1 up, you want to finish the job so obviously it’s disappointing. It’s something that we can learn from and we want to improve.We could have been technically better and more dangerous tonight. Overall, I think a draw was what we deserved. When we picked up momentum we looked very dangerous, it’s just about how we do that more consistently,” said Gibbs. Arsenal are up against Basel in the final round of the group matches, while PSG are up against Ludogorets at home.

Read More

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger made a bet that paid off when he gave Kieran Gibbs a rare start during their clash with Ludogrets in the Champions League.

Gibbs had been restricted to domestic games and late game minutes in the past few months but Wenger could not risk Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi due to their fitness concerns. Monreal has been the constant in the equation.

In the past two seasons, he has been the go-to person. However, in the game against Swansea Modou Barrow tormented him, but he has been rather decent since he became a regular.

Monreal has two years left on his deal with the club, yet extension talks are not in the pipeline. It seems the 27-year old might become part of Arsenal’s past in the near future. For Gibbs, he took advantage of the opportunity to prove his defensive capabilities. He put up a real contest with Brazilian player Wanderson as the Bulgarian side tried getting on the score sheet.

The full back would definitely face tougher teams that Ludogrets but he proved he could be an effective option in games. He definitely proved a point in the game, leaving Wenger to possibly rethink not considering him in game plans aside domestic matches.

Oxlade-Chamberlain didn’t impress as much on the night. He is in the same situation with Monreal as his contract drags to the lapse period. He provided the assist for Alexis Sanchez though. Gibbs provided him with cross than he converted and he ran to him to acknowledge his assistance. Before the European contest, Oxlade-Chamberlain acknowledged that it wasn’t enough to play well, that he needed to do more. This was probably why Wenger left him and Gibbs on the pitch, preferring to rest Theo Walcott, Santi Carzorla and Alexis Sanchez. The 6-0 victory sent Arsenal to the top of Group A.

Read More

Arsenal’s 3-0 win over the Antonio Conte’s led side at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday has been described as a quite shocking one considering the fact that the Blues lost 1-2 in their last game against Liverpool and ended up in a tie earlier on against Swansea.

Strikes from Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott in the 11th and 14th minutes respectively ensured that Arsene Wenger rounded off his 20th year anniversary celebrations at Arsenal in a spectacular manner.

Kieran Gibbs was brought in to replace Alex Iwobi in the 70th minute of the game as the first substitute by the Gunners boss. He performed credibly well and was able to brilliantly clear off a cross by Alonso under tight pressure.

This win has seen Arsenal advance to 3rd place with a total of 13 points and directly under Tottenham with 14 points. At the top of the league table comfortably sits Manchester City with 18 total league points. Before they can be displaced, they would have to lose their next two games while the Spurs would have to win their next two games to place them at the top spot.

On the other hand, two recent losses and one draw against Swansea has seen The Blues fall back to the 8th position on the league table. With total league points of 10, they sit directly behind Crystal Palace who has the same number of points with them but leads with goal possession.

Over the years, Kieran Gibbs who has struggled with injuries and currently plays second fiddle to Nacho Monreal was linked to an exit during the last transfer window. While it did not work out, the Gunners left back who would add another year (27 years) by September 26th may however not stay on at the Arsene Wenger led side when the transfer window opens again in January.

Read More

Getting transferred to the Emirates and shifting to London, Rob Holding is experiencing a different life as for the first time he has to live alone and also, has to prepare his breakfast, lunch and dinner himself.

Not only that, but, to train alongside some of the global names and on top of that, having his Arsenal debut so early, Rob must be pinching himself.

He was not going to be on the team sheet in the initial weeks if the Gunners’ top picks had not been on the physiotherapist’s table, but, the fact that he was left the only option for his position, he got games first up and he showed enough to Wenger that he pointed the youngster out in his presser at the Leicester trip.

Wenger was quoted saying, “I don’t see any talk of the youngster we have played in the two matches, Rob Holding. I mean look at him, just in the early twenties, but, so talented. However, for someone to be talked of, he must come at a big transfer fee. No?”

Whilst the move came out of the blue, there was one bookmaker who was offering promotional rates on a defender moving to Arsenal before the close of the window – if you join netbet today you can see the special offers they run.

On asked about Wenger singling him out, Rob could not hide his smile. In his words, “I heard that. Any bit of appreciation coming from the manager feels fantastic. After every match, he chats with everyone personally. He makes it easy for newcomers, no pressure”

In what sense Premiership is a bigger challenge than the lower tiers, Rob says, “The game is played along the pitch and not that much over the top which you see in second or third divisions and because it’s along the pitch, everything is quicker, thought process, decision making, everything. You feel things are happening at a different pace.”

Holding might again feature in the XI this Saturday at the Vicarage Road.

Read More

Kieran Gibbs has stated that Arsenal can manage without the presence of Per Mertesacker at the back.

The London team has been hit by the absence of their first choice defenders with Mertesacker and Gabriel injured and also Koscielny returning late to the team.

However, Gibbs believes that Arsenal has the strength in depth to handle this situation and believes that they can cope. He said that the injury to Mertesacker is an excellent opportunity for the younger players to step in and make a name for themselves.

Kieran Gibbs who has lost his place in the first-team said that he wants to fight back in order to get a place back in the Arsenal team and also in the England team. Since last season, he has been replaced by Monreal at the back and that this season he will fight to get back into the team.

It is reported that Kieran Gibbs has had a discussion with Arsene Wenger and convince him to give the present players a chance at the back. Indeed there has been mounting pressure from the fans to urge the team to buy new players, but Gibbs believe that Arsenal already have the necessary talent. He said that it is up to the players to seize the opportunity and make sure they keep their places in the team.

Gibbs said that it would be a big loss for the team to lose Mertesacker at the back because of the experience of the German but he believes that there others players that can manage at the back.

So far Arsenal has signed Rob Holding from Bolton to help bolster their defence and it is believed that Arsene Wenger is working on some other options before the end of the transfer window.

Read More

English Premier League giant Arsenal FC ended their United States tour with a win over Chivas Guadalajara.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a great solo effort for the Gunners as the team wrapped up preparations ahead of the forthcoming season, in the United States of America. The game ended 3-1 and as another victory for the team after defeating the MLS All Star team 2-1.

Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the goal five minutes into the second half. He did a back heel to get past a Chivas defender, moved to the middle before hitting a powerful drive with his left foot past the goal keeper. Few minutes later, England Under 21 striker Chuba Akpom muscled out an opponent and scored yet another goal. He was the one who scored the winner when Arsenal won the MLS All Star team in San Jose, California, USA. The 20-year old player is already establishing his name in the Arsenal squad and has had a great time at the pre season tour of the United States.

Arsenal showed their confidence yet again in front of the 24,000 fans gathered at the StubHub Center Stadium in South Central Los Angeles. The first goal was scored through a free kick in the 34th minute by Rod Holding as he tapped into an empty net. Calum Chambers was the one who redirected the kick before Holding buried it. Arsenal remained in control of the game but Angel Zaldivar scored a late one for the Mexicans. Chivas is one of the most winning teams in the Mexican top football division. They have 11 league titles and a CONCACAF Championship. Joel Campbell was almost sent off for an altercation with a Chivas player but both players got just a yellow card. Mertersacker missed the game and can only play next year, forcing Arsenal to look for experienced defenders.

Read More

Arsenal wasted no time in making a move in the summer transfer window after they brought in Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka for a transfer fee of £30 million.

Arsenal’s reluctance to spend in the transfer window has hurt the chances of winning titles immensely over the last few years. The club, though, have occasionally splashed out on big-name players like Mesut Ozil, but their indecisiveness during the 2016 January transfer window cost them dearly as far as league title is concerned. The 2015-16 season seemed to provide the best opportunity for Arsenal to end their trophy drought, but they could only come second after Leicester City managed to win in surprising circumstances.

Xhaka is expected to bring a lot of craft into the midfield, which will be without Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta going into the new season. The duo have been a mainstay in Arsenal’s midfield over the last five years, but they have chosen to retire at the end of the campaign. At just 23 years of age,Xhaka has the potential to dominate Arsenal’s midfield at least for a decade. Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer says that the Switzerland international will be huge miss at the German outfit next season. Xhaka played a key role in Mönchengladbach’s fourth place finish in the Bundesliga last season.

“His departure is a huge loss for us because Xhaka is not just very important as a player, but also as a person. You can see that he is the one pulling the strings in midfield and our game would often run through him.He was the one creating our game and it’s always hard when you lose such an important personality. Now we’ve got to find a new playmaker, but I’m sure Borussia will do a good job and soon present our new Granit Xhaka,” saidSommer.

Read More

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil had one of his best seasons – and probably most consistent – in an Arsenal shirt since his £ 42.5 million move from Real Madrid more than two years ago.

The Germany midfielder has been struggling with bouts of inconsistency, which has prevented him from making a major impact in the Arsenal team. Some even suggested that he was going to be the next Andrei Arshavin. The Russian midfielder became a major disappointment after an initial run of success at the Emirates stadium. Ozil, though, has finally showed the quality that he has within his ranks in the 2015-16 season.

The German finished just one short of matching the assist record set by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Ozil made 19 assists in the 2015-16 league campaign, but this figure could have been significantly better had he experienced a better end to the season. A majority of the assists made by Ozil came in the first half of the season. Ozil has revealed that the summer preparation was a crucial factor in adjusting to life in the Premier League, which does not have any winter break, after his move from Real Madrid. Many have criticised the lack of the winter break as being the reason for foreign players struggling to establish in the English league.

“I arrived from Real Madrid where the style of play is very different. It took me a few months to find my bearings. I also had to get used to a new environment. I feel that my problems were justified.I started the second season really well before getting injured. The key to my success this year was my summer preparation. For the first time since I got here, I was able to train properly. After training, I do muscle-building exercises,” said Mesut Ozil.

Read More