Kieran Gibbs and West Brom boss Tony Pulis reading from the same page

Pulis made the analogy when signing the pacy left-back from Arsenal for £5million in the summer.

And 28-year-old Gibbs admits his engine needs to be finely tuned before he can fire on all cylinders.

“I completely agree because I’m the type of player where if I’m 90 per cent you won’t get much out of me,” said the England international. “Once I’m tuned in right and firing in the right places in my body then I feel like there’s a different level to me.

“I’m glad he sees that because it means I will be managed properly in and around the games because for me that’s really important.”

When making the comparison, Baggies boss Pulis said: “Gibbs is a Rolls Royce type of player. He has fantastic pace and ability and I’m sure he’ll be a player the supporters will like a lot.”

After some impressive performances in his early Baggies days, the fans have already taken a shine to Gibbs.

A run of consecutive starts is welcome to a player who found himself increasingly sidelined towards the end of his Gunners career. So does he believe he can reach his peak at The Hawthorns by starting regularly this season?

“Who knows,” he said. “I’ve missed a lot of football but I’ve also played a lot of football. I’ve probably played a bit more than people would think.

“I don’t feel like I’d be one of those players that your legs are going to go at this or that age.

“I don’t feel like one of those players, certainly at the moment, maybe because I’ve missed a lot football.

“Hopefully that will, touch wood, play in my favour later on in the years.

“In terms of reaching my peak, I don’t really see it like that, especially not this season, I’m just going to focus on myself and playing regularly, seeing where I can get to on a personal level.”

Not only did Pulis’s words in the Press strike a chord with Gibbs, a conversation between the pair also put Gibbs at ease about moving away from Arsenal after more than a decade at the Emirates.

“I spoke to him probably about 12 hours after I heard they were interested,” said Gibbs. “After speaking to him I felt even more comfortable about coming here.

“Having that conversation with him and just tying up a few things that – I would have spoke to any manager about before signing, that he agreed to.

“Medically as well and just how I was going to be managed and around the team and that he agreed what I asked for.

“That showed he wanted me and was prepared to give me a few things I asked for gave me the confidence to come up and meet me.”

With 10 England caps and more than 200 appearances for Arsenal, Gibbs has also brought a shed-load of experience to an Albion dressing room that already contains plenty.

He said: “I want to put that experience into the team this season and hopefully we can use everyone’s experience within the squad to have a good season.”