IS KIERAN GIBBS THE NEW ASHLEY COLE?

WITH Arsene Wenger recommending Kieran Gibbs to England coach Fabio Capello, we decided to analyse his performance in Arsenal's 4-1 win over AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday.

We paid special attention to the promising left-back who is emerging as a threat to Wayne Bridge to act as cover for former Gunner Ashley Cole.

It may seem a tall order for the 20-year-old to gatecrash the England squad for South Africa but he has impressed for the Under-21s and could be handed a first cap in one of the warm-up games before the main event.

So how did Gibbs fare? Here is our report.

* Kieran made a bright start and tried to work a one-two down the left flank in the opening seconds. It was immediately clear he had a brief to link with the attack, and this is something he thrives on.

* When taking an early throw-in, he was ordering his team-mates to push further forward, showing he is prepared to tell more senior colleagues what to do.

* A header back to Manuel Almunia was a little risky but reached its intended target with something to spare.

* On nine minutes, he marauded forward again on the overlap but overhit his cross when in a decent position.

* Another lung-busting run down the left was in vain as he failed to keep in an overhit pass.

* Most of his work has been going forward but he shows his defensive qualities by sweeping up superbly to nullify Brett Holman's run forward. It was a dangerous moment as AZ reacted positively to falling behind and Gibbs needed to be on his toes.

* The best bit of attacking play by the youngster in the first period as he flies down the flank again and delivers an excellent left-footed cross that results in Cesc Fabregas getting in a header at the far post.

* A push on Moussa Dembele is rather rash and punished for a foul but Gibbs has comfortably handled his tricky opponent.

* Twice throwing himself into the challenge, a couple of fierce tackles display his aggressive side.

* A first real scare for Gibbs, five minutes before half-time, as Dembele gets past him and moves menacingly into the penalty area. There was a danger of conceding a penalty and lesser full-backs may have lunged in but he waited until the final moment to make a saving challenge to clear for a corner as Dembele prepared to pick out a colleague. Although beaten initially by the AZ winger, this was a great recovery by the England Under-21 prospect.

* A measure of his confidence as he tries a nutmeg that only wins a throw-in.

* The second half gets underway and he is beaten in midfield but it is nothing to worry about.

* A great, clean tackle when chasing back stops Dembele in his tracks. More outstanding work by the rookie defender who has handled his Belgian adversary superbly.

* Tight again on Dembele, not allowing the winger any room to manouevre.

* Dembele goes off on 58 minutes, probably with a slight knock, and the new challenge comes in the shape of in-form Jeremain Lens.

* Doing what every defender is told to do, he is in quickly on Lens the moment the substitute is brought into play.

* His only shot of the night is a decent one. Showing neat control, he advances through positively and clips an effort with his weaker foot, his right, just wide but it has Sergio Romero scrambling across his goal. A threat going forward, he has learnt a lot from playing in midfield and once scored twice for the Under-21s.

* The worst moment of the game for Gibbs and the only real blot on his copybook. Beaten to the ball by Lens, he slips and is grounded, initially looking in a bit of pain, as his man gets clear and picks up a return pass before poking the ball past a static Almunia for a consolation goal. It would be harsh to pin the goal completely on the full-back but it was an illustration that he still has plenty to learn at this level.

* A long ball forward looks promising but the offside flag brings the attack grinding to a halt.

OVERALL:

This was another positive, fearless performance from Gibbs who is clearly a player with a great deal of potential.

With Gael Clichy sidelined for up to two months, he now has the opportunity to play at left-back and force himself into Capello's thoughts.

Of course, becoming an Arsenal regular is the priority, rather than England, and he is at the perfect club to learn his trade.

The AZ goal showed he can be caught out but, otherwise, his display was more than encouraging and he is definitely over the high-profile slip in last season's Champions League semi-final that allowed Park Ji-sung to open the scoring at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal fans may not like Cole and they could see his heir apparent at international level make strides to replace him in the years to come.

All in all, while there will be tougher tests to come than the one posed by the disappointing Dutch champions, Gibbs looked totally at home in this company and should continue to improve with the more experience he gains.

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