The GPS is the wearable that transformed football the most - Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal legend

We met with Kieran about a year ago, after our batch at Y Combinator. Kieran is a football legend, having played for Arsenal for almost 10 years, as a left back. He's now at Miami continuing to do what he loves whilst exploring exciting opportunities in the crypto space.

It was great to hear more about his football career, the use of wearables in football today, and what culture drove Arsenal to achieve so much success.

"I probably haven't stopped since the moment I kicked a ball"

Kieran grew up in central London and saw football as an escape from the reality of hard working life. The way he sees football is that every time he's on the pitch he feels free and happy. He loves competing and pushing himself as hard as he can.

He realised he could compete internationally when he signed a Scholarship at just 16 years old

Things changed when he turned 16. He signed a Scholarship with Arsenal, and moved to the new training facility training with first team and reserve team players. His real chance to break into the squad and impress the manager came when he was just 17.

On his debut he started at left back, his first time ever playing that position...

He was a midfielder before it, and in some ways starting fresh in a new position helped him to define his craft and develop to becoming one of the best fullbacks in the world. He wasn't prepared for it and thought it helped him, he didn't overthink things and was able to work with Arsene Wenger to define the position as his.

Arsene Wenger gave the players confidence in their abilities

He did it without saying much. He was generally always calm and in control. His demeanour made you relax in high pressure situations and take in the moment rather tahn let it pass by. One of his rules was to make sure that the team travelled together, whilst being very strict on diet and sleep. More specifically, he made sure the team would stay together so that they settled together as one unit. On diet he focused on small things like making sure the team only drank room temperature water given that it's better for hydration.

In the early days, all of the nutrition and sleep advice came from Wenger himself

Back in the 2010s he managed all of that. But later on as tech and wearable began to enter the football scene, teams began to take on specialist teams to look at all of the new pieces of data.

The GPS is the wearable technology that changed football the most

Given that the football pitch is large and players can cover a lot of distance each ground, the detail that can be captured through the GPS is astonishing. Looking at movement, acceleration, deceleration and distance covered the team can optimise individual player's performances

Arsenal's culture was focused on history, community and leaders in the team

It was very clear that Arsenal impacted the lives of millions of people. Because of that there was a heavy emphasis on the club history and community, how you behave and how respectful you are was key and most important to Arsene. He was strict. He would have certain players in the team on his side that would call out players for doing the wrong things. They would carry his rules and values throughout the team rather than him enforcing them himself. He gave you responsibility with the belief that "This is what I want, you either follow it or you won't be a part of what we're building."

A winning team needs multiple leaders, its essential.

It's no good having just 1–2 players, 4–5 is essential. During the season you can lose players to injury or suspension therefore depth of leaders is key.

"My first appointment to a team would be to secure the best medical department"

At Arsenal they lost key players at critical points in the season that were integral to their performance. He'd hire the best physios possible to make sure the team is fit and healthy

Kieran recognises that data is essential

Making sure that players are getting enough sleep, staying on top of training, working hard and keeping fit. It's important to focus on the small details and get them right. For example, getting inputs into the stress of the player would be super effective in learning about how they're performing mentally throughout the season. He's seen a huge transition in the mental side of the game and how it relates to performance. Nowadays you wouldn't see a team without a psychologist, they've become one of the most crucial members of the squad.

Kieran's life as a footballer today is defined by wearables

Every day he trains with a HR monitor and GPS. At the start of the week the data team defines a target that they want each player to hit regarding speed and distance, and training is tailored to ensure this goal is met. For example, if a player trained hard but didn't quite cover the distance goal they would be made to do some strides to reach that goal. This would be tailored by position for example a CB wouldn't have the same distance and speed expectations as a CM or winger.

Who is in charge of the data in the team?

When data analytics was becoming more mainstream in football, there would be a sports scientist or data analyst in charge of all things data related. However, over time more managers are learning how to interpret data. For example they would need to know why a certain player has to take it easy in training or why they can push harder. Without understanding what the data is saying this input from the data team can be miscommunicated.

Kieran believes tracking stress and the mental performance of a player would be extremely helpful for sport

Looking at a player's anxiety could be key to indicating how they might perform in high pressure situations.

Kieran's team has a chef and nutritionist that work together to optimise a player's nutrition

The nutritionist decides what the chef should cook, and the chef cooks it. It varies by day and also depends on the timing of the game. Every morning the players are delivered a little box with all the supplements they need to take for the day

"I'm swallowing like 8 tablets every morning."

The pre-game meal varies depending on the timing of the game. Typically players will eat 2.5–3 hours before the game and if the game is at night this would consist of a heavy carb meal for example pasta and veg with a small selection of meat.

Kieran receives 50% of his salary in Bitcoin

He's one of the first football players to do it and finds it to be a really exciting space. Miami, where he is based right now, is a hub for it with a lot of activity and people in Crypto.

Kieran invests in Terra given we are positioned in health, one of the areas he focuses on

Kieran's investment strategy is to prioritise fast growing ventures that are good for society and have a potentially massive impact. He is particularly fascinated by opportunities in emerging markets and takes a lot of advice from his friends that he grew up with who went on to become VCs. He always likes to focus on major trends.

Kieran remains focussed on football... for now

It will always be important to him, but outside of it he's keen to focus more on the crypto space. He's keen to see how he can continue to support people doing great things especially in areas that he's passionate about.

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