Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs believes the momentum created by securing a top four finish on the final day of the Premier League season will help Arsenal hit the ground running at the start of the next season.

The Gunners pipped north London rivals Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League table by just one point following a nervy 1-0 win at Newcastle on the final day of the 2012-13 campaign.

Arsenal have failed to mount a Premier League title challenge in recent year’s,but 23-year-old defender is confident Arsène Wenger’s men will step up next term.

According to Evening Standard ,he said :

The dramatic finale to the season made us even stronger, and we will be going into the new one head on. We are aware that we need to produce next season and have to make sure we are confident about dealing with that expectation. It has been my best season so far. It is a stepping stone for me and now I just need to build and stay fit. I am sure I can do more for the team. I was hopeful of getting into the England squad (this summer), but I was not called up. I will just relax now and make sure I prepare myself physically for next season, ensuring that I go into it with a clear head. I am really looking forward to it and hopefully we can all make it a special one.

Despite his 23 Premier League starts last term, Gibbs will still have to fight for his place in manager Arsene Wenger’s first team next season. Spain international Nacho Monreal was acquired from Malaga in January for just over £8 million, so while Gibbs may be Arsenal’s left-back of the future he will still have to battle the 27-year-old for first-team football.

Gibbs has spent his whole professional career at Arsenal and has only just become an important player in the team. Last season he made more performances for the club than any other seasons and he also achieved career high in assists but I am worried that next season he will get less game time than Monreal, and his progress might suffer accordingly.

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Gibbs is quality attacking wise, he has great attacking instinct. However, he, like some others, is suspect when defending. If you took a bird’s eye view of the pitch he plays on and average his position for the match, he would most likely be out on the wing attacking rather than defending. That’s fine when you play the passing game but it’s still a worry that he plays that far up. It almost makes it a liability. He does need to fix that part of his game up. I do feel that will come with age and experience.

I hope Gibbs gets plenty of game time next season to show what he can do as a footballer rather than a bench warmer.