When Wimbledon Football Club dissolved in 2004, Arsenal picked up three promising youngsters from the Dons’ academy. Midfielder James Dunne, defender Abu Ogogo and then-winger Kieran Gibbs all joined the Gunners on youth terms. Five years later and only one of those players ever went on to make an appearance in an Arsenal shirt.
Two years have passed since Kieran Gibbs, now twenty years of age, made his first team debut in a League Cup clash against Sheffield United. Manager Arsene Wenger has taken Gibbs down a path similar to that of Ashley Cole. After being brought up as a left winger (and part-time central midfielder) the dynamic Gibbs has been moved into the backline, and to say he has adapted well to his left-back role is a massive understatement.
When Gael Clichy sustained a back injury towards the conclusion of last season, Gibbs stepped up into the starting eleven and made the Frenchman’s absence less than obvious. He made twenty-one appearances that season in all competitions, and proved that he could truly compete with the big boys, evident by the manner in which the pacey Gibbs took on Cristiano Ronaldo in a Champions League tie and left the winger floundering in his wake.
With Clichy succumbing to injury yet again, Gibbs has once more found himself as a regular in an Arsenal side that is exceeding all expectations this season. In his six games thus far this term, Gibbs has thoroughly impressed. In fact, Gibbs’ form has been so impressive that he was supposedly discussed as one of the potential replacements for Ashley Cole in the England squad.
While England boss Fabio Capello played down these claims, it is no surprise that at just twenty years of age Gibbs is being touted as an outside chance to travel to the England squad to South Africa for next years World Cup. Gibbs, though, is taking all the hype in his stride:
“It’s in my mind somewhere but we have a long season yet. Hopefully if I can get some more good games under my belt there might be a chance – but I’m just concentrating on the club and what we can do to win trophies. I’m still looking to take my chance when I get it and I’m happy enough with the way things are going.
“At the moment I don’t really deserve to get a World Cup call because I have nowhere near the experience that a lot of the players do, and I’ve a great deal to prove yet. I’ve played a few games for Arsenal but I still have a lot of work to do to earn a place – I don’t want to be called up because of someone else’s disappointment, I want to be selected because I’m deserving of it.”
The Lambeth-born youngster demonstrates a level-headedness that belies his tender age, and while South Africa may be a long way off, there is no reason why Under-21 star Gibbs can’t replicate his Arsenal heroics in an England shirt. It is only a matter of time before the dynamic fullback becomes a regular fixture in the Arsenal side, and once that happens, England caps are sure to follow.
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