While Eddie Nketiah was busy earning a cult hero status following his performance in the 3-2 win against Manchester United, there was a moment when the Emirates Stadium camera crew lit the screens with a shot of Jakub Kiwior and his world famous Twerk Queen of Germany girlfriend, Claudia. 

He must have enjoyed his first glimpse of his future club, as Arsenal has wasted no time in announcing their second signing of the January transfer window, with Kiwior arriving from Serie A outfit, Spezia. The Polish defender featured consistently for the Serie A side this season, notching up 17 appearances in the League, as well as all Poland’s games in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

I’ve touched on 10 things you need to know about the defender, but my biggest delight of having Kiwior join the team is the fact that he will add some much needed depth to the Arsenal defense. Gabriel and William Saliba have been synonymous with first team action this campaign and have forged quite a formidable partnership, but beyond them, Mikel Arteta has only Rob Holding to call on. Yes, the Englishman has been a model professional, doing his bit to support the team when called into action with limited minutes, but his defending sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, so it’s actually good to get an upgrade on him.

Kiwior will not be expected to walk into the first team, but his presence and availability will allow Arteta to manage Gabriel’s minutes as he has featured the most, across four different competitions, this season. Yes, the Brazilian is one hell of a fit dude, and the disappointment of not getting a national team call up in November allowed him get some deserved rest as well as recharge those agile batteries, but now, in Kiwior, the Gunners have another dependable defender they can count on.

Head coach, Arteta, was also very excited at the prospect of playing Kiwior in his team,

“It’s great that Jakub is joining us. He’s a young versatile defender who has shown huge potential and qualities with Spezia in Serie A, and also at international level with Poland.

“Jakub is a player who will give us strength and quality to our defensive unit. We welcome Jakub and his family to Arsenal and look forward to working with him.”

It’s also worth noting that Kiwior is very adept playing as a defensive midfielder, so he can even potentially get a shot ahead of the likes of Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga, a player he would be familiar with from their early days at the Anderlecht academy together. 

Kiwior will wear the #15 jersey and we look forward to watching him strut his stuff at the Emirates.

Sayonara.

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Arsenal care close to signing Poland defender Jakub Kiwior for £20m

Following the swift acquisition of Leandro Trossard from Brighton, Arsenal is acting in yet another swift fashion to sign Jakub Kiwior from Spezia for a reported £20m. This signing has taken everyone by surprise, and in all honesty, adding another center back to our ranks is a welcome move, because the Gunners have been desperately short in that position all season long.

Without further ado, here are 10 things you need to know about Arsenal’s potential defensive signing, Jakub Kiwior.

He’s Versatile

This season, Kiwior has featured in three main positions for Spezia – center back, left center back and defensive midfield. This shows that Kiwior versatility is one of his strong points, as he was very comfortable playing in these tactical setups for the good of the team. This gives Mikel Arteta a tactical advantage, as he can chose to deploy Kiwior where he sees fit.

He’s a Direct Competition / Replacement for Gabriel Magalhaes

There are three players that have played the most (25 games each) in this campaign – Granit Xhaka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes. Gabriel has featured in all 18 Premier League games for Arsenal, as well as one appearance in the FA Cup, a substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup and five of Arsenal’s six group stage games in the Europa League. Yes, he has shown that he’s one hell of a fit lad, but that’s way too much football to play, especially when there was supposed to be cover. Sadly, there has been no left-sided center back at the club, since Pablo Mari was shipped out to Monza.

In Kiwior, Arsenal will have a left-sided center back that will provide direct competition to Gabriel and cover him based on business needs. 

His Passing Stats are very Good

According to WhoScored, Kiwior has a passing accuracy of 85.3 percent, and this season at Spezia, as well as his performances for Poland, has shown that he has a penchant for floating long balls, and sometimes playing out of defense, which is a trait that will bode well for him at Arsenal. He averages 45 passes per game and four long balls per game, which are quite impressive if you ask me.

He has Vast International Experience

Kiwior made his debut for Poland in the 2022 Nations League in a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, and he featured consistently for his nation. He also played 90 minutes in all Poland’s games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and will be odds to continue featuring for his nation as long as he’s able.

His Injury Record is Exemplary

Kiwior has only been injured for 22 days in his entire career, and has been an ever-present for Spezia, with 39 appearances so far, including 20 consecutive appearances this season. 

Arsenal Won the Race for His Signature Against Stiff Competition

His impressive performances at Spezia this season caught the eyes of leading Italian outfits like Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli, but Arsenal won the race to sign the center back. It sure feels good to be in the lead to sign a player, especially with what happened with a certain Mykhailo Mudryk. 

He is a Product of the Anderlecht Youth Academy

At 16, Kiwior left his home country, Poland, (was in GKS Tychy’s academy) to continue his footballing education at Anderlecht’s famous youth academy, the same ground that nurtured the likes of Vincent Kompany, Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans, and Arsenal’s own Albert Sambi Lokonga. 

He’s Actually very Good at Defending

Kiwior is 6′ 2″ tall and he uses his frame very efficiently. He is also a great clean tackler of the ball (just one penalty conceded in two years) and is very good in duels. We all know that Mikel Arteta is very upset when he loses a doou-el. According to Sky Sports, Kiwior ranks sixth in the Serie A with 34 headed clearances, fifth in Serie A with 68 clearances completed, 13th in Serie A with 24 interceptions, eighth in Serie A with possession won 57 times in the defensive third and 36th in Serie A with 111 long balls attempted.  

He Fits into Arsenal’s Recruitment Policy

At 23, Kiwior fits the age profile of the kind of players Arsenal has been looking to sign in Arteta’s bid to challenge for trophies and build for the future, so he will fit right in with the lads. 

His Girlfriend is the Twerk Queen of Germany

For those that don’t know, yes, Claudia, the WAG of Jakub Kiwior, is the current Twerk Queen of Germany. 

I can wait to see Kiwior don the famous Red and White of Arsenal, and we will need every player we can get to surge to our first league title in 19 years! Here’s a little YouTube highlight reel to wet your appetite.

Sayonara.

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