TRANSFER RUMOUR: Gibbs transfer is off—erm, on

Kieran Gibbs is a player out of favour. Fallen down the pecking order, there was little hope he would get much starting time this season for Arsenal. So a transfer seemed to be the best option if he wanted any first team action. It had appeared Watford were set to land the fullback for a paltry £5 million.

Then at 7:04 AM EST:

Oof. However, it isn’t the most surprising thing. Gibbs has a pretty decent salary and a cushy training ground at Arsenal. Personal terms were always something Watford would struggle to match. It is well within his right to enjoy those amenities while under contract. And perhaps he’ll be needed as a back up if — wait a tick, what’s this?

8:19 AM EST

Oh.

With a medical being scheduled, it would appear personal terms have been met and Gibbs is off to West Brom instead of Watford. And an extra £2 million to boot. Well, isn’t that something. West Brom had expressed interest in Gibbs earlier in the summer but the bid appeared to have been dropped, leaving Watford as frontrunners.

Should it go through, Arsenal will be saying goodbye to one of the long-term veterans in Gibbs. 9 seasons with the Gunners, much of it spent as back up to Gael Clichy and then Nacho Monreal. Still, Gibbs made 230 appearances for the first team and should be thanked for his tenure. Maybe now he can find his way into another beleaguered side: England.