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
What Mikel Arteta has done with £20m Arsenal player is actually pretty strange
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s decision not to play Jakub Kiwior in recent weeks is starting to look more and more baffling.
The Polish international was signed from Italian side Spezia in January.
The move progressed very quickly, with the 23-year-old arriving at an exciting time for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side were starting to pull away from Manchester City in their first title race for years.
There was no indication that Kiwior would be put into the team immediately.
In William Saliba, Arteta had found the perfect partner for Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arsenal were one of the best defensive sides in the country, with a lot of credit given to the young Frenchman.
However, Saliba suffered an injury against Sporting in the Europa League, that could potentially end his season.
In his absence, Arteta has turned to Rob Holding instead of Jakub Kiwior to play alongside Gabriel.
However, the Gunners have suffered a significant drop off in that time, although it would be harsh to pin this all on Holding.
It does seem like a strange decision from Arteta not to give Kiwior his opportunity to play during Saliba’s injury.
Especially given that he’s been doing well in training, with captain Martin Odegaard singling him out for praise.
Arteta’s snub of Jakub Kiwior is very strange
Journalist Charles Watts a similar view after Arteta confirmed Saliba would miss tomorrow’s match against Chelsea.
“There’s no [William] Saliba we know that once again,” . “Is there a way we can bring [Jakub] Kiwior in?
“The Kiwior thing, I know he’s a left-sided centre-back, I know Gabriel’s [Magalhaes] a left-sided centre-back.
“But you’ve spent £20m on a centre-back and you’re not using him one of your centre-backs is injured.
“You’re playing Rob Holding who I think we all know isn’t good enough at the very, very top level.
“So, why have you spent £20m on this centre-back and you’re not using him? Just because he’s left-footed is that really a thing? The Kiwior thing just surprises me.”
Arteta has selected Jakub Kiwior just three times since his move in January.
He started Arsenal 2-2 draw in Portugal against Sporting CP, and would like have earned more minutes in the competition had they progressed.
Aside from that, he’s played just 14 minutes of Premier League football, coming off the bench twice.
Kiwior will need time to adapt to his new surroundings, but he showed at the World Cup he’s capable of playing on the biggest stage.
To constantly overlook him in place of Rob Holding when he’s been average at best is a worrying sign.
There may not be a better opportunity to give him his full Premier League debut tomorrow.
Chelsea are completely out of form and averaging less than a goal a game.
It could be just the confidence boost Kiwior needs to stake his claim to start going forward.