Whilst it’s generally accepted that he’s a big step up on Armand Traore, it’s clear that Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs is no Ashley Cole – at least for the time being. There’s little doubt that he’s a promising young thing, but there remains inconsistencies in his game and he’s still some way off discovering the form and ability that Cole regularly purveyed during his time with the Gunners.
He’s only 22-years-old and still has plenty of developing to do, yet plenty of questions have been raised as to whether he’s likely to make it at Arsenal in the long-term.
Whilst the signs are good, particularly in the manner that he’s positioned himself as a regular first team starter ahead of Andre Santos (who has admittedly been injured for +a long portion of this season) the young Englishman hasn’t gone without criticism this season.
Like Santos his game gets better the further he moves up the pitch. That’s to say he lacks a little bit of defensive nous. He’s not yet got the positional sense of Bacary Sagna (who is equally good going forward, but always manages to get back into position when the opposition launches a counter attack) and this can often result in Arsenal’s defence being pulled apart.
This was most evident during Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of AC Milan, where there was absolutely no organisation to his game. It was also evident during the Gunner’s 2-0 defeat by Sunderland in the FA Cup.
The trouble is that his young career has been tarnished by a number of injuries. He has faced so much time out on the sidelines that his development has suffered and whilst he has continued to hone his offensive ability (he’s an Arsenal player after all) he’s yet to really pick up the intuitive defensive ability that comes with game time and experience.
Having said that, there’s a big difference between the kind of defensive errors that Andre Santos makes and the blunders of Kieran Gibbs. Santos’ errors are more basic stuff like giving the ball away in dangerous areas and running aimlessly into opposition players. The fact that Gibbs has this stuff down pat is encouraging and it’s also probably the reason that he’s currently above Santos in the pecking order.
Whilst Gibbs’ mistakes should not be excused off hand, he’s clearly talented and it looks like he has a future with Arsenal Football Club. Should he continue to develop at a decent rate then he has every chance of becoming a top young British full back. But only time will tell whether he has the chops or not.
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Kieran Gibbs is our best and most reliable left back, he just needs a long injury free run in the side to build his confidence. He is a better defender than Santos and as a full back much more athletic and quicker. Santos is clever going forward but very suspect at the back and slow for a full back. Basically Santos no better than a back up left back, got to be Gibbs all day long.
Should of brought Santos back at Villa. Santos attacks more and gets caught out of position more but he defends better 1 on 1 and attacks better 1 on 1 and is an all round better player with more experience. He does not have the pace that Gibbs has but he makes up for it in confidence that makes our back line more confident. He also looks like a player that knows what he is doing. Gibbs though I like him, looks lost in attack and midfield sometimes. With Santos against AC Milan we would of got the goal. Gibbs does not bomb down the left side like Clichy, Triori used to do and that Santos does.