Wenger tips Gibbs to emulate left-back legend Cole

Jim van Wijk 07:47 01/10/2014
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  • Rich potential: Kieran Gibbs is over his injuries and ready to shine, says Wenger.

    Manager Arsene Wenger is con­vinced Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs has what it takes to follow Ashley Cole and become a mainstay for club and country.

    Gibbs has shaken off recent inju­ry setbacks and is now a solid mem­ber of the Gunners defence.

    Following the internation­al retirement of Cole after not being selected for the World Cup by Roy Hodgson, Everton’s Leighton Baines and, if fully fit, Manchester United teenager Luke Shaw look set to be the preferred options for the European Championship cam­paign, which continues next week against San Marino and then Esto­nia.

    Gibbs, however, is the only Eng­lish left-back with Champions League action this season, as Arse­nal prepare for tonight’s Group D tie against Galatasaray at the Emir­ates Stadium.

    Wenger believes Gibbs – with only three senior England appear­ances, the last coming after a two-year absence against Germany in November 2013 – can go on to emulate Cole, who was first choice for both Arsenal and then Chelsea while earning a century of interna­tional caps.

    “Kieran looks to me that he’s going into second gear now and he realises that he can trust his body, he can trust his talent,” said Wenger of the Arsenal Academy graduate.

    “He has such a great potential that now if he just lets it go, because he can dribble as well, when he arrived at the club he was 16 and a winger, midfielder, and I saw that potential didn’t really come out.

    “I saw he was intelligent and maybe I could transform him into a defender. It was a bit similar to Ash­ley Cole. We try always to show him confidence.

    Wenger continued: “It is a good example (for Gibbs) to follow because Ashley is top. You see sto­ries about Cole, but on the day of a game, when it mattered and when you had to be there, he was always there. You have to respect that.”

    Arsenal continue to be beset by injuries and will be without Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey for at least a month because of a ham­string injury picked up in the week­end draw with Spurs, while cap­tain Mikel Arteta is also sidelined by a calf problem.

    England’s Jack Wilshere, however, has recovered from a twisted ankle.

    Wenger maintains the club, hav­ing brought in a new fitness coach Shad Forsythe, who worked previ­ously with the German national team, are trying to get to the bot­tom of why they pick up so many injuries.

    “We made a lot of changes, in the way we prepare, in the way we work on prevention for injuries,” added Wenger. “We have not found out why it happened.

    “We know a lot more than 18 years ago than when I arrived, but still not enough to predict 100 per cent scientifically what happens to everybody.”

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