Gibbs wants end to injury woes

By Gabriel Tan in Kuala Lumpur

The Gunners were hit by a massive number of injuries last term, especially in defence, but recovered well in the latter stages of the campaign to ultimately finish third.

After being confirmed as manager Arsene Wenger's first-choice left-back following the summer departure of Gael Clichy to Manchester City, Gibbs started the season strongly but was then ruled out for six weeks after having hernia surgery in November.

The 22-year-old eventually returned to action in the 4-0 Champions League defeat to AC Milan in February and went on to make 22 appearances in all competition, the most in a campaign since his debut in 2008.

Having enjoyed a strong pre-season so far, Gibbs is hoping his injury problems will now be a thing of the past.

"I hope to play a full season this year," he told ESPNSTAR.com in an exclusive interview.

"I was out a bit last year with a few injuries but this year I'm feeling strong.

"From the start of the season, I was happy with there I was going but I don't know what happened with my injuries to be honest.

"We spent a long time trying to find out what was wrong."

Furthermore, the pacy full-back believes Arsenal could really challenge for honours if they enjoyed better luck on the injury front.

"At one point, we had no fit full-back and when we had all those injuries, we basically had half the squad for many parts of the season. A lot of people didn't realise that.

"But once the injured players came back, we looked more of a team and we really managed to turn things around, so hopefully we won't have to do that this year."

Nonetheless, there were still some positives to take for the Gunners from the last campaign, with the emergence of youngsters Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong amongst others, and Gibbs believes it is now important to continue this progress.

"We hope to continue to build on what we did last season," he explained. "If everyone stays together, I think we can win some trophies.

"It's been really exciting. This year we've got more new players coming in, and the new arrivals from last year have gelled and it feels like they've been here forever.

"We've got young players coming through who are looking excited and hungry."

Despite his history of injury problems, there are many who still consider Gibbs to be one of the most talented defenders in the country.

The last time Arsenal produced such a gifted full-back, Ashley Cole went on to win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with the club, before joining Chelsea in 2006 and earning 98 caps for England in the process.

But with Cole now 31, Gibbs admits he is determined to prove he can be the Chelsea man's long-term successor for the Three Lions.

"Obviously, being the first-choice left-back for England is what I'm hoping to achieve," he admitted with a slight grin.

"First, I'm hoping to play one full season with the club with no injuries.

"Then, I'll look towards establishing myself on the international scene and who knows what will happen when the 2014 FIFA World Cup comes around?"

Gibbs earned his first Three Lions cap against Hungary on August 11, 2010 but has since played only once more for England.