Thursday, 1st August, 2013
Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs has urged his team-mates to step up a few notches prior to the Emirates Cup, which will take place this weekend.
The north London outfit have been in superb form in pre-season, having won all four of their matches on the club’s recent tour of Asia, scoring 19 goals and conceding just three times.
However, the 23-year-old feels that the Emirates Cup is a different proposition as Arsene Wenger’s side will have to play against high quality opponents such as Napoli and Galatasaray.
And hence Gibbs insists that it is important that Arsenal are “fully switched on” before the tournament, which was not held last term due to the Olympic Games in London.
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“This is where we’re really looking to start preparing properly, in terms of full competitiveness on the pitch”, he explained to his club’s official site.
“It’s our target to treat the Emirates Cup like the season is fast approaching and really go through the gears. We’re looking forward to that.
“We missed it last year so it’s good to be coming back and getting a good pre-season game at our home ground. If you don’t take it seriously then you’re not going to take the season seriously. It’s really important that we’re fully switched on.”
The left-back is also looking forward to meeting his former Arsenal team-mate Emmanuel Eboue when the Gunners take on Turkish outfit Galatasaray on Sunday.
“What a character he is! He puts a smile on my face like he does to everyone he meets”, Gibbs added.
“I’m looking forward to meeting up with him because he was a good friend of mine when he was here and his house in London is quite close to mine. It will be good to see him.”
Gibbs, who has two senior caps for England to his name, made 27 league appearances for Arsenal last season.
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