West Bromwich Albion moved to address what has been something of a problem area in recent seasons with the signing of Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs for a reported fee of £7 million.
The 27-year-old has penned a four-year deal with the Baggies, and according to head coach Tony Pulis, will prove to be a good addition:
“I’m really pleased to add a player of this quality and experience to our group. Kieran’s a good age and has made over 200 appearances for Arsenal, represented his country and has Premier League and Champions League experience. To add these qualities to our squad is exactly what we’re looking for.”
The History
Gibbs began his youth career at Wimbledon before joining Arsenal in 2004 at the age of 15.
He signed a professional contract with the Gunners in September 2007, and made his debut in a League Cup tie against Sheffield United the following month.
The defender took in a loan spell at Championship side Norwich City for the second half of the 2007/08 season, making seven appearances for the Canaries.
He had to bide his time to break into the first-team at the Emirates and only started to gain regular starts at the end of 2011/12.
He was the first choice left-back over the following two seasons before gradually losing out to Nacho Monreal.
Gibbs made 229 appearances in all competitions during his time with Arsenal, registering six goals and 25 assists, and was part of the squad that won three FA Cups.
Capped at U19, U20 and U21 levels by England, making 25 appearances in total, Gibbs made his senior debut against Hungary in August 2010.
He has featured 10 times for his country, with his last outing coming in November 2015.
The Prospects
As Gibbs himself alluded to, the move to West Brom will hopefully provide the England international with the chance to play regular first-team football.
He made just eight Premier League starts last term and was frozen out during pre-season when it was made clear by Arsene Wenger that he had no future at the club.
In recent years, Allan Nyom and Chris Brunt have shared playing time at left-back, with the latter naturally a midfielder.
So the move to the Hawthorns may well see Gibbs take over as the first choice left-back.
Certainly, the need for improvement is obvious; West Brom have conceded 54 crosses down their left flank already – more than any side – and far more than the 24 down their right.
Gibbs’ arrival, allied with Jonny Evans’ failure to clinch a transfer to Man City, now hands Pulis a dilemma at the back once the injuries clear.
If Gibbs grabs the left-back berth and Craig Dawson operates down the right, then Gareth McAuley and the popular Ahmed Hegazi will battle it out for the place alongside Evans.
Nyom, then, could offer no more than back-up.
Gibbs is priced at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), which is the same as Dawson, Nyom and McAuley, with Hegazi now available for 4.8 and Evans at 4.9.
Yet West Brom’s ability from set-pieces – they notched 20 of their 43 goals last season from dead ball situations – is key to how we assess their prospects.
Hegazi has produced four goal attempts in just three appearances, and at 6ft 5in tall, is a prime target for all those West Brom set-plays. Meanwhile, Dawson has scored four times in each of the last two seasons.
Gibbs may also struggle in terms of bonus point potential.
He only averaged a clearance, block or interception (CBI) every 16.33 minutes last season – worse than Dawson (13.89) and Nyom (15.62) – while Hegazi is impressively averaging a CBI every 8.71 minutes this term.
The upcoming fixtures remain kind (bha WHU ars WAT) for a side that have already chalked up two clean sheets and allowed just three big chances over the opening three Gameweeks.
Ultimately, then, given that Gibbs has scored just twice in the top-flight, it’s the set-piece threat of Dawson and, potentially, Hegazi (should the 26%-owned Egyptian manage to see off the challenge of a fully-fit McAuley) that is likely to offer far greater potential.
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