Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Martin Keown delivers his Jakub Kiwior verdict after watching Arsenal defender vs Real Madrid
In the absence of Gabriel Magalhaes against Real Madrid over two legs, all eyes have been on Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, a defender who has spent much of the season on the sidelines.
Kiwior has always been trusted by Mikel Arteta but the Arsenal defender simply hasn’t been able to forge a path into the starting eleven owing to the excellent players ahead of him.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have built a partnership of the ages at the Emirates Stadium — two of the best centre-backs in Europe.
However, fortunately for Arsenal, Kiwior has fit in alongside Saliba seamlessly, delivering two stunning performances against the likes of Kylian Mbappe.
Spain’s media praised Kiwior after the first leg in north London, and the defender arguably took his performance one step further in Madrid.
Martin Keown gives his Jakub Kiwior review
That being said, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown saw fit to praise Kiwior after full-time on Wednesday evening when speaking to
It felt like a case of ‘real recognising real’ when Keown lauded Kiwior’s ‘exceptional’ performance for Arsenal, a stand-in defender who was being touted as a weakness ahead of the tie.
However, after his 180 minutes against Madrid, Kiwior deserves a lot more respect — a defender who’s clearly equipped to play at the highest level.
Discussing Kiwior’s performance, Keown said: “I think shoutout for Kiwior as well because everyone was looking at him as a weakness in the team.
“No, he’s stood up and he’s played exceptionally well tonight.”
And perhaps the level of Kiwior’s performance was demonstrated by the fact that even Saliba succumbed to the pressure of the tie in one moment when he let Madrid in to score.
Kiwior might rethink his Arsenal exit plans
Of course, Kiwior does want to leave Arsenal this summer irrespective of the chances he’s given before the end of the season.
The Poland international knows that Gabriel will return at left centre-back when he’s fit and Kiwior wants to be a first team regular, perhaps back in Italy.
But if Arsenal can dream for a moment of winning the Champions League — would Kiwior actually be able to stomach leaving if he played all the way to the final?
It’s one to revisit at the end of the season but it’s significant on the club’s part that Arsenal are interested in Jorrel Hato at Ajax, someone who would surely only come in if Kiwior left.
Either way, neither Arteta nor Kiwior will be thinking about the summer transfer window right now, a team with so much left to play for.