Mikel Arteta has been urged to make a defensive switch ahead of Arsenal’s huge north London derby clash with Tottenham.
Arsenal’s surprising midweek draw against bottom-of-the-table Wolves has made the Premier League title race all the more interesting.
And while the Gunners still have a five-point lead over Manchester City, they have played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side and face a potential banana skin away at arch-rivals Spurs on Sunday.
Spurs appointed Igor Tudor as caretaker manager until the end of the season and would love nothing more to not only downplay their relegation fears but dent Arsenal’s title hopes.
City, meanwhile, are riding high off four consecutive wins in all competitions, and could pile even more pressure on Arteta’s side with a victory over Newcastle United on Saturday.
Arsenal will be desperate to get back to winning ways and dispel any growing nerves around their title chances, but Kieran Gibbs is one of many who are slightly concerned by Arsenal’s recent performances, particularly at the back.
And the former Gunners left-back urged Arteta to be proactive to address Arsenal’s problems, and suggested that he wants to see Jurrien Timber given a rest after a jaded display in midweek.
‘I think if I were to pick any holes in that, it would probably be, I feel like Jurrien Timbers played a lot of football, and I think he might be due a rest,’ Gibbs told ESPN.
‘You’ve got Ben White waiting behind you, he’s perfectly capable, he knows how to play at this level, and he’s done great for Arsenal since he signed. So maybe there’s that.
‘In terms of where they’re lacking at the moment, you have to say his goals conceded, I think they’ve conceded eight goals so far this year, and they’ve only conceded 18 goals in the whole season.
‘So it’s clear that that’s where the issue is at the moment, and we just don’t associate them with that because of this kind of back five, back six, with Rice in there, they just don’t concede many, and that’s where you’re seeing their numbers increase at the moment, with conceding goals.
‘So maybe there’s something that needs to be done there.’
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And while Arsenal should be confident against an out-of-form Spurs side, Gibbs insisted his former side needed to be wary about the unpredictable nature of a derby-day clash.
‘It’s a great way for them to respond and perform,’ he said of Sunday’s match. ‘You’re talking about coming up against a team that is in as bad form, if not worse, than Wolves. So now is the time to respond.
‘But this is a separate game anyway. The North London derby is always a separate game to what’s going on in the league. There’s other things at stake when it comes to this game on Sunday. It’s an extra special derby this weekend.’
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