Errors and criticism hurt us, says Gibbs

Ben Hunt
Thursday 22 September 2011 06:44 EDT
Comments
Gibbs (right) scored the equaliser against Shrewsbury
Gibbs (right) scored the equaliser against Shrewsbury (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Arsenal have brought "a lot of" their recent problems on themselves, according to the club's young defender Kieran Gibbs. He insists, however, that the Gunners, who currently lie 17th in the Premier League and were forced to come from behind to beat Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, will improve.

"To be honest, it's not been the easiest of months... but I can assure everyone that the team is together and you can see from the stats of the games that what we are doing is right," the left-back said.

"But on some occasions we just aren't getting the results. We are looking to turn that around as soon as possible so we can lift the club. There have been some errors but I also think we bring a lot of the trouble on to ourselves sometimes. It happens in football."

The 21-year-old admits he has taken some of the criticism levelled at Arsenal personally but maintains they have been unlucky. He said: "We have progressed in our last couple of games; it is just that individual things are punished. We make one mistake and it's a goal. It's unbelievable how much it is affecting us, but we'll overcome it."

Wenger received a vote of confidence from the club's chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, before Tuesday's match with Shrewsbury and Gibbs says the manager's position should not be called into question. "If we haven't shown [that we support the manager] already, then I'm sure we will.

"I don't think we need to show what type of man Arsène Wenger is. If we needed to do that, then there is no point in us being here because what the man has done is incredible. We all have to be behind him.

"We know we have the ability and the squad. If you look at the players we have got a lot stronger since the start of the season and I'm sure we will pick it up. We just have to stand up and not hide away."

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted he had forgotten what it was like to be in the thick of the action, but hopes there is more to come after helping fire Arsenal into the last 16. The 18-year-old £10m winger marked his first start with a well-taken goal in the 3-1 win over Shrewsbury.

He said: "I haven't been on the bench as much as I would have liked recently and that is due to some quality signings. I forgot what it felt like to be out there."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in