Arsenal have sprung up with a surprise €25 million move for Jakub Kiwior from Spezia as Mikel Arteta addresses an important position.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Arsenal have agreed to sign Jakub Kiwior from Serie A club Spezia for €25 million. The Polish centre-back was on the radar of other clubs before, but the Gunners have quietly swooped in for the left-footed defender to address a specific squad problem.
Last summer, Arsenal surprised their fans with the Fabio Vieira deal. In this day and age of football journalists and aggregators, even the slightest rumour gets picked up. But the Gunners managed to evade them before landing the Portuguese attacking midfielder. And things only got revealed after they had wrapped up the move.
Similarly, Arsenal have now agreed to a €25 million deal to sign Jakub Kiwior from Serie A club Spezia. The move is a major surprise to fans and journalists alike, as there were no whispers of interest in the Polish centre-back. They also agreed a move for Leandro Trossard in a swift manner 24 hours ago.
Earlier in the window, West Ham had seen a bid get rejected by the Serie A outfit for the Polish defender, as they demanded more than €20 million. Arsenal seemingly obliged their requests and agreed to a €25 million deal to sign Jakub Kiwior.
🙅♂️ Only 2 players – Ardian Ismajli and Kim Min-Jae – have blocked more shots than Jakub Kiwior (18) in Serie A this season pic.twitter.com/C72YpA5Mxj
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) January 20, 2023
Mikel Arteta will add quality depth to the left centre-back position with the defender’s arrival. The area lacked good cover for Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian defender has started 53 consecutive Premier League games. And at some stage, Arsenal needed to bring in a deputy.
Kiwior is 22 and fits the club’s current policy of signing young stars for their project. Most of their recent signings have come in a similar age group, and Kiwior will prove a good fit under Arteta. The Gunners were also linked with other players in the position, such as Evan Ndicka.
The Frenchman may still arrive on a free transfer in the summer and replace Rob Holding in the team. As for Kiwior, he will slot straight into the squad and compete with Gabriel Magalhaes for a place. But Arteta is unlikely to drop the Brazilian for the Polish defender this season.
In the unfortunate event of an injury to Gabriel, Arteta will have a readymade option in Kiwior to replace him. Otherwise, the Polish international will play regularly in Europa League and FA Cup games. As Arsenal continue to chase the Premier League title, he could also become an option from the bench in games.
