Kieran Gibbs Biography

Name :
Kieran Gibbs

Born :
September 26, 1989

Birth place :
Lambeth, London

Height :
1.78m

Weight :
70 kg

Position :
Defender

Squad Number :
28

Previous Club(s) :
Norwich City (loan)
Wimbledon

Joined Arsenal :
September 10, 2007

2008/09
Kieran started making inroads into the Arsenal first team in the 2008/09 season with some impressive performances in the Carling Cup. He played in every round in the Club’s run to the Quarter-Final where they were beaten by Burnley.

He made his Champions League debut as a substitute against Porto in December when he came on for Abou Diaby and his Premier League debut against Tottenham in February when he replaced Gael Clichy.

An injury to Clichy meant Kieran appeared in both FA Cup and Champions League Semi-Finals.

Kieran classed the campign as a success. “At the start of the season I set myself the target of a Premier League debut,” he told Arsenal.com. “Having had a taste of the first team it can be difficult [to wait] but I am still learning the game. Obviously it is a big club so I need to be patient.”

He made a total of 21 appearances fin 2008/09, a tally which included 17 starts in a year that showed the Arsenal fans what he can do.

2009/10
If you want to know how highly-regarded Kieran was in 2009/10, consider this.

The 20-year-old left-back only played seven times and didn't featured at all after November, yet Arsène Wenger was fielding questions in February over whether Kieran might recover in time for the World Cup Finals.

Fabio Capello and co clearly have their eye on Arsenal's talented left-back and you can understand why. Kieran showed in those seven games that he has the technique and tenacity to carve out a long and successful career.

Unfortunately for Kieran, his run of games in October and November of last year came to an abrupt halt when Standard Liege visited Emirates Stadium for a Champions League group game. A Liege defender left his foot in as Kieran tried his luck from the edge of the box and the youngster emerged with a broken metatarsal.

It was as ironic as it was upsetting. A matter of days earlier, Gibbs suffered what was feared to be a broken metatarsal during an England Under-21 game in Lithuania. News that it was just bad bruising came as a pleasant surprise for Gibbs and Wenger. Sadly, a nasty surprise wasn't far behind.