Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that defender Kieran Gibbs gives us a lot of credit for his last ditch tackle against Billy Jones in the final few minutes of the match against West Brom.
Arsenal were winning the match 3-2 thanks to many errors from West Brom goalkeeper Martin Fulop. However, West Brom could have equalised at the very last moment after they capitalised on an error from Arsenal.
Kieran Gibbs, who is currently seen as the replacement for Gael Clichy, made a last-ditch tackle on Jones in order to prevent West Brom from equalising. That block has proven extremely crucial given that Tottenham were winning their match against Fulham comfortably 2-0.
If Arsenal had drawn the match, then they would have lost the third position to Tottenham. It would have meant Arsenal would not have been able to qualify for the Champions League automatically.
Now, they are into the group stages for the 15th consecutive season under Arsene Wenger. Martin Fulop was replacing the injured Ben foster in goal for West Brom. He proved that the former Birmingham city goalkeeper was clearly the number one at West Bromwich by making a number of errors in the final match for Roy Hodgson.
“There are only three clubs in Europe who’ve done that, [the other two being Real Madrid and Manchester United]. In September [actually October] we were 17th after losing four of the first seven. It was very difficult to imagine we could finish third, but we had an exceptional run after our exit from the Champions League. They showed mental solidity and unity, stayed united and came back,” said Arsene Wenger after the match regarding the record Arsenal have in this competition since his arrival.
Tottenham will have to settle for the fourth position and they could miss out on the Champions League if Chelsea win the title.