The relationship between Kieran Gibbs and Arsenal could end this summer as Liverpool are reported to be preparing to bid for the out-of-favour full-back as a potential replacement for Albert Moreno.
The left-back still has two years left on his contract but his future at the Emirates stadium has continued to be shrouded in uncertainty.
Football Insider claimed that Liverpool are interested in signing the English defender who has fallen down the pecking order behind Nacho Monreal who has been Wenger’s preferred starter last season.
The Anfield club are also keen on Leicester teenager Ben Chilwell, whose has just one year remaining on his contract with the Foxes. Liverpool are also watching the situation of Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, Lorient’s Raphael Guerreiro, PSV Eindhoven’s Jetro Willems and Cologne’s Jonas Hector.
Wenger has never welcomed selling players to the direct Premier League rivals and has hardly sold many players to his peers unless the players demanded a move to those specific clubs.
In the light of that, a loan move of the defender to Newcastle was blocked in January but Arsenal are reportedly now willing to listen to offers for the 26-year-old who has been valued at around £12 million.
He made just 12 starts in all competitions for the North London club last season with just three of them coming in the Premier League. Gibbs has spent his entire career at Arsenal having joined the club in 2004, aged 15. He has made over 209 appearances and won the FA Cup.
He has been capped 10 times by England but a lack of game time cost him a place in the England squad for EURO 2016. His exit would leave the left-back vulnerable with no cover-up for Monreal who is already in his thirties.
However, Ricardo Rodriguez seems a potential replacement for Gibbs. The Switzerland international has hinted that he would favour a move to Arsenal, according to the Metro.
The Wolfsburg fullback has expressed his desire to follow in the foot-step of his national team-mate Granit Xhaka who joined the Gunners from Borussia Monchengladbach in a £30 million deal.
Rodriguez who shares a room with Xhaka in the national team told Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger he would also like to share a room with him at Arsenal, fuelling speculations about his exit from Wolfsburg
“That would be exciting, yes, especially because the room arrangement at Arsenal would be fixed as well.”
Wenger is also keen to add the 23-year-old to his team this summer and is ready to activate the £20 million buyout clause in his contract. Rodriguez is known for his ability to contribute to attack while not forgetting his defensive capabilities.
