Pre-season was traditionally about allowing players to recover fitness and slowly feel their way back into competitive football. In modern times it still retains those qualities but now possess an opportunity for managers to explore the depths of their squad and test new options.
It’s now particularly common for club’s to unearth ‘reverlations’ in terms of players who have not played for the club, i.e Jack Wilshere or simply a player who has shone in a brand new position. That is very much the case for 18-year-old Kieran Gibbs.
The former Wimbledon trainee is proving himself as capable cover for Gael Clichy at left-back, so much so he has been flown to Holland with the first-team for tonight’s crucial Champions League qualification match against FC Twente.
Football is a highly competitive sport, and whilst Armand Traoré remains crocked on the sidelines, Kieran has taken over the mantle with brilliant consequences. Many have raised questions over Armand’s defensive abilities, as both him and Gael are both full-backs who base their games on attacking, but the Lambeth born youngster bases his game on defending.
Gibbs’ transformation has been a year in the making but his performances have freshened up Wenger’s back-line, with many suggesting Traoré should not be seen as a viable option to plug the gap if Clichy sustained an injury.
Kieran himself admits he prefers to play central midfield, but after coming through the ranks at Arsenal as a left winger, he found himself playing Carling Cup football as a defender. Arsène Wenger is known for trying youngsters out of position to test their characters, and this has been one test he passed with flying colours.
A solid yet professional performance against Sheffield United last year built a base, before an assist against Blackburn in the next game. The trip to Ewood Park proved not only is he a firm defender but he had retained his midfield passing instincts.
The last three games against Juventus, Huddersfield Town and Sevilla have brought physical challenges, and although their have been shaky moments, overall he stood up to them very well.
It remains clear their is work to do to convert him to a defender full-time, but Kieran is certainly making his mark.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Ya I sooner Gibbs LB
A winterburnesque type defender, by no mean Silvinihoesque
who need barry when we got gibbs. he also can play in 3 positions, left back, left wing and center midfield.
Silvinho? interesting comparision, i think he could really thrive with a sustained spell in the team. Another Carling Cup run would certainly help though.
gibbbs is good
Gibbs is an outstanding talent but he is an average left back and was only playing there out of necessity and to give him a different perspective on the game. Traore is better defensively than Gibbs which says it all but I really hope he plays in the Carling cup team this season either wide left or central midfield. He is one of the few young guns that may make it at Arsenal.
dont you think its a wate of talent if we play him LB, rather than left mid? and do you think hes happy about converting?
I like Gibbs, but would still prefer Traore in this position.
J. Sanderson, what do u think 2nites line up would be?
waste*
does anyone have a link to a stream of the game tonight? the p2p site doesn’t work for my mac.
Gibbs was absolutely shredded by the Sevilla front line . . . A lesson he won’t forget I hope
I wouldn’t say its a waste of talent at all – Sagna and Clichy show how much influence a skillful fullback can have on the game. It probably just allows for a more technical player on the wing, say Rosicky/Nasri, while retaining the threat from crosses.
@ Kat. try this site closer to kick off
Streams Are illegal, please do not post them.
Traore will be pushed up to left wing now surely ?
Jay u know anything about the “new” singing that may be coming
I doubt Gibbs will play this evening with Clichy fit, but Wilshere has travelled although he will be rested.
Kat – If you want streams go elsewhere, they are a breach of copyright and will not be tolerated here.
come on guys did u watch sevilla game navas was allover him his not good at marking that left wing
realistically gibbs aint never getting in the team as a winger, or in centre mid. He might, just, have a chance at left back – but Traore is a better athlete and offers more, he just needs to mature as a defender. Then there’s the left wing back we have on loan in spain too.
Gibbs is just as shite as Traore at left back.
Good point Romford Pele – he ain’t gonna make it as a winger/midfielder so Wenger is giving him the best chance he can
@ J.Sanderson. soz about the illegal link post, didnt know any better
Gibbs had a nightmare against Sevilla, didn’t look good at all and that was a friendly. At least Traore has put in some good performances in the first team already, he’s got much more potential.
Are links to watch matches illegal??
Gibbs is good, but Traore is much better.
http://freestyle-football.de/
i remember Gibbs last years pre-season and he was awesome. his best position is left wing and that is a position we lack players (lack of natural footed wingers).
* Nasri’s best position would be thru the middle or right wing, same as Rosicky.
So, Mr Wenger needs to consider trying Gibbs, Vela n Traore on the left wing, to give us more dimensions.
Traore as cover to both left bk or left wing
duuuuurrrrr
jay, i dont think he played against blackburn, maybe you confused him with randall…otherwise great job as usual
can u get cought
same here J. call me retarded, but I didn’t know streams were illegal. computers ain’t my specialty.
love the site though. I have to admit I’m curious about pedro. how would he rate up against traore or gibbs right now?
good work as always Jamie, but 2 things
1) ‘reverlation’ is actually spelt revelation
2) I think gibbs definitely has a very bright future, but as witnessed in the Sevilla game, he still has much to learn on the defensive aspects of the game. Granted it was against a top class winger in Jesus Navas, he was skinned/beaten/tricked by the winger on a NUMBER of instances eventually leading to the goal. There is not much doubt in my mind that Gibbs will make it at the highest level, he has outstanding technical qualities and blistering pace, but maybe not as a left back.
J in the future do you think pedro has the ability to rival clichy for the lb place.
Streams are ripping off boradcasters. Setanta Sports pay for their matches, they pay the clubs to get permission to show the games for their channel which you have to pay to watch.
A stream rips them off because it take their service and offers it to others for free so they miss our on revenue. It’s a breach of copyright and you can get into serious trouble for it.
Yes i believe he could but he is the opposite of Gibbs because he is very attacking full back.
Pedro bases his game on bringing the ball from the back at pace and joining the midfield in attacks. He is a traditional wing back rather than a solid defender.
Chaos u r right, the 3 assists were Bendtner, Denilson & Song. Gibbs’ assist was for Eduardo against Sheff Utd for the last goal, it just an honest mistake.
Sorry no room for Gibbs. Traore is going to be a left winger and in a few years time he’ll be a regular trust, all he needs to do is improve his final ball and getting past ppl. Pedro will then come back to us next year and be Clichy’s understudy and also giving us another option at left midfield. Gibbs has no chance in hell to make it as an Arsenal regular, there are just to many better players ahead of him. You snooze you lose thats life!
Nice article, but you obviously weren’t in Amsterdam! Gibbs was abysmal. For most of the match I couldn’t bear to watch. If Clichy cries off the night before the Man Utd game, be very afraid.
What about the streams which are not associated with sky or setanta sports.
he didnt play against blackburn, his assist was for eduardo’s second goal against sheffield united but easy mistake to make, i have to say though i would much prefer him to be played wide left and not at the back where he got roasted against sevilla..
Setanta rip us off by winning the contract to show the Premier League games instead of Sky. It was cheaper to buy a Sky Box Office season ticket (£50.00) than a Setanta subscription (£10.00/month + £15.00 joining fee + £10.00 cancellation fee). Therefore, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a live stream if it meant Setanta not getting any money off me.
as only 18 players travelled tonight, Gibbs, Randall and Wilshere will be on the bench. Wilshire definitely won’t come on as Wenger said he’s going to give him 2-3 weeks to get his breath back, but the way Wenger siad suggested that Wilshere will be involved more than we think this season.
I’m guessing the predicted line up will be:
Almunia
Sagna, Djourou, Gallas, Clichy
Eboue, Denilson, Ramsey, Walcott
RVP, Adebayor
Obviously it depends on what’s happening during the game, but Bendtner and Vela are likely going to be two of the used subsitutes. There’s one sub still up for grabs.
What about the streams which are not associated with sky or setanta sports.
Kevin said this on August 13, 2008 at 5:15 pm
It’s all the same. They are illegal. It’s the equivilant of downloading music though – Murdoch is a cunt and till he stops being one ripping off millions and promoting extremely right wing news outlets, i’m gonna continue not paying him money. I don’t know about Sentanta but I can’t afford it and Murdoch’s son, the one that owned half of Rawkus is cool, but fuck Rupert Murdoch with a pitchfork.
why is Eboue still making the starting eleven and also playing on the right wing. This a worry. Eboue is useless and a waste of space
i think ramsey might not start. wenger still got other option and i think a safer one. he can put vela on left wing, walcott on right with eboue into midfield to partner denilson. other option, put sagna on center back or hoyte there, then djourou in midfield.
so this could be the line up:
almunia
sagna djourou gallas clichy
walcott eboue denilson vela
RVP adebayor
almunia
sagna hoyte gallas clichy
eboue djourou denilson walcott
RVP adebayor
Fuck Sky and Setanta, the club only gets a small percentage from the broadcasting rights, FIFA, UEFA and FA get the money and that gets shared amongst the clubs in the competitions, if they made games available pay per view, i would happily pay to watch but when there are rip of deals that involve spending lots of money for the whole package i rather not support them.
@ g0on3r
i very much doubt that Djourou would be playing in midfield. Ramsey would defo start, because Wenger is stubborn like that. He would want to prove critics wrong (that Ramsey is to young and isn’t ready)
Has anyone seen this man PARKHURST Michael of the USA.. he has impressed me at the olympic games. He might be the answer for arsenal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTxgd4a4WD4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ2ZLiVZme0
i also not convinve djourou would play midfield. just list down possibalities. but i won’t rule out my first line up, wenger tried it and it seems to work fairly well. wenger might think twice to risk playing ramsey for this very important match.
Team for tonight:
almunia
sagna gallas djourou clichy
eboue denilson ramsey walcott
RVP adebayor
Such a load of crap.
Gibbs is a MUCH MUCH better defender, actually a much better player full stop than Traore who looks to have an advanced form of Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to concentration level.
You put Gibbs (from cold) up against a phenomenal right-winger from Sevilla, Clichy would have had trouble, Cole would, Evra would.
By comparison Traore looks great vs utter crap teams, slightly better than average against regular teams and woefully out of his depth against top teams – and that was ‘his position’.
Gibbs is filling in (remember Flamini at LB).
Don’t get me wrong – I think Traore (like Anelka) has perfect physical attributes to be a Wenger footballer, he just doesn’t have the brain or requisite level of concentration to be any kind of defender. He’s much more suited to being a ‘Parlour’ on the left (much more so than Eboue on the right for example).
Personally I really like Gibbs along with Bendtner, Vela, Coquelin, Simpson and Wilshere – I think that they all have the little spark (married to natural potential) that will elevate them from normal to exceptional. I must say (more through lack of seeing them play), I’ve not seen many others, and none in true defensive positions that stand out for me.
prediction for 2nites game.
2 nil- Adebayor and Ramsey to score
good article J like always
does any1 else think that arsenal should set up a feeder club in britain my opinion is that if they did they should choose a SPL side as the league is pritty competitive outside the old firm and they would be guarnteed 1st team football at any other team apart from celtic and rangers also from a fans point of viw we would get far better TV coverage if they went up to a SPL side than a championship side
If Wilshere plays in the CL before January 23 he will be the youngest player ever to play in it, beating Bojan’s record of 17 years and 22 days. I am not sure if the qualifying round qualifies as the Champions League. So Hopefully we will have the youngest ever player to play in the strongest football competition on the planet.
Now that, Stone, would be wicked!
Against Seville he was caught out of position time and time again, he is too much of a lightweight to defend, I don’t believe he is a first team regular yet, his time at Norwich was a disaster, he needs to be loaned out to a PL team
which site are you talking about. Is this site free? May I have that name of the site please, bc I can’t see all Arsenal games and I can’t subscribe any chanel bc Im too far
For anyone who’s not watching the match – it’s 0-0 but Twente could’ve been up 3-0 or 4-0 by now. Quite embarrassing. They have most of the possession and are passing us to death. Djourou got kicked in the face and had to be taken off, RvP almost got injured again but seems to be ok now. Clichy is playing well below his usual standard. Passes are going astray all over the place, Adebayor is offside again for the millionth time.
To be honest i’d be happy to escape with a goalless draw, because hopefully by the time they come to the Emirates, our squad will have been bolstered a bit.
Gibbs has been truly awful apart from when he has faced the weakest of opponents. The cocksucking queue has started a little sooner than usual. Gibbs has performed far better in the past, but should not be considered at all for first team duty outside the Carling Cup and then only if Traore is injured or required for a proper upcoming game.
For anyone that’s not watching, there’s no reason to fear.
I can easily see Arsenal come out of this game with a clean sheet.
I must say the Twente side are full of energy and are more physical than Arsenal. However Arsenal have looked very dangerous at times with Van Persie getting into dangerous positions. I feel confident that Arsenal will get a goal if they create 1 clear cut chance. The reason Arsenal have not hit the net yet is because they have not yet created a clear cut chance. Defensively, it’s honestly been a tough job for all the back 4 but I’m confident they’ll come through unscathed. I’m positive Arsenal can win this 1-0 towards the end. No panic people. We’ll be okay. I’m used to seeing Arsenal play better in the 2nd half so its not all doom and gloom. On a final note, I don’t see them scoring ‘if’ no defensive mistake is not made. We’re well and truly able to contain them. Gallas and Djourou are doing very well
daymee you idiot.Did you not read J saying not to post illegal links. Think before you post. Im not saying there anything wrong with streams but keep them to your selvf rather than risking others websites!
Goal GALLAS!!!
I didn’t know that.
I won’t do it again.
But please do not use such language with me again. I’m very offended by that. I honestly din’t know ans how am I pposed to know it was wrong? Never call me or anyone idiot again. Thanks
2-0 adebayor
I that we had enough to contain these guys. I’m glad we’ve done the job.
its a good job that traore is a left winger now then .
Daymee, thanks a lot mate for those informations. Im really grateful to you. Thanks again.
Gibbs ain’t that good; no skill. On the other hand Traore can’t defend. Traore is more a winger for me anyways.
fuck me did anyone se henrys goal against wisla fucckkk world class we need him bak
JSanderson,
No1Fran_Merida let me know you do not want illegal sites be posted on here. I’m deeply sorry for that and it won’t ahppen again. Thanks
No1Fran_Merida, thanks for letting me know this type of posts are banned here. Next time pls choose your words carefully and don’t let your first words be insults like saying idiot. It isn’t needed at all. Thanks
daymee – Don’t worry about it mate, your not in any trouble or anything.
Yes, calling somebody an idiot is not very nice at all, were all Gooners.
Let’s not get too dramatic about this. ‘The final nail in Traore’s coffin’? So you’ve now completely ruled out Traore because Gibbs has had a couple of good games in pre-season? At best he’s given the manager something to consider, nothing more
Watched the Twente match on a stream – watch nearly all arsenal matches on streams because very few live in Denmark. But didn’t know it was illegal. Kind of increases the pleasure LOL. Don’t tell my wife though – she’ll have an excuse to stop me watching.
I take all the blame for Daymee. I didn t know where to watch Arsenal games and he has helpd me a lot. Also Im enjyoing this site and would love to thanks Mr Sanderson for his job
I have a feature on the top 10 youngsters on my website. Find out where Gibbs is. http://arsenalcolumn.wordpress.com/
Also Read my match report against FC Twente
Includes stats and ratings and analysis of performance. Recommended reading! Seriously
Back on topic… Gibbs has shown his quality both left back and left mid. However its not a dead cert that traore is “beaten” so to speak. He looked class in the midfield and he can still improve at the back. So good competition and good depth.
http://theworldsmostbeautifulgame.wordpress.com
may i say what a great site this is, but being Arsenal should it be anything else? This is where I look if I want to know whats going on in my club, and you seem to have news before anyone else.In time you may well find you have,like our great club,become the blue print for all other clubs web sites not only the EPL but every where. There are however two things that dont sit easily with me, firstly the steroid partners? what would happen if any of our youg stars used them? Careers would be over.
Being such a good site please dont get labled as advertising or supporting such things Arsenal are better than that.Secondly I believe that any comments that include a swear word should be deleted and not posted there are enough words out there to not have to swear. Again we are Arsenal we lead the way so lets show it. I hpoe these comments can be taken on board and keep up the excellent work.
glichy has had glowing things to say about traore recently. we didn’t look so good tonight in spite of the win did we? cold comfort.
For all those people who keep saying Gibbs didn’t play against Blackburn you’re wrong.
Look here: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19122007/8/photo/kieran-gibbs-arsenal.html
In my country they dont show champions league qualifying matches so i have no other option but look for a stream
I think Gibbs is with the first team only because the injuries. He is not good enough for the first team and is not at the same level as Traore.
I can’t see why posts with swearing should be deleted. I hate censorship, people should speak their minds. Of course, comments that are of no point, and only meaningless negative trash talk about other users or such, should be considered to be deleted.
What’s the problem with this sentence: “Wow, that goal at the end felt so fucking good!!! :D” Or, “that cocksucker Ashley Cole, is a fucking prick”. It’s emotions man. And people that wants to be taken seriously watches their language anyways.
But I don’t feel there’s a need to exclude swearing from the comment field.
PeteE I have looked at other comments added by you on this site and guess what? no you dont swear. See its not necessary, it doesnt detract from the point your making.Its not censorship that would be to ban all comments. This site is about young players, is this what we want them to read? But this is only my view and we have freedom to express it as we wish, its just a shame that such comments lower the standards that an Arsenal site that stands head and shoulders above others should stand for.
btw J what’s happened to merida? he was touted as the next big thing post FAYC run in 07 but seems to have disappeared off the radar now. Surely he would have been in with a shout of being in the squas vs. Twente / Amsterdam Cup last night given that Thomas, Randall, Gibbs etc were all involved.
Has he fallen out with the Boss?
Pedro Bothello??
Stories abound that Reading want Kieron on loan.
Gibbs was left exposed in the Sevilla game because the centre of midfield was non existent and whoever was playing left midfield didn’t track back to help him once.
Its good for gibbs to play at LB. He’ll improve defensively. This might be coz wenger wants him ready to play in premiership by second half of the season(injuries!!). This will also improve his long passin n crossin. He’s got gr8 gr8 potential nywys.