Arsenal fans were quick to direct blame at Jakub Kiwior following the team’s 1-1 draw against Fulham, a result that saw the Gunners miss an opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool in the Premier League title race. While the entire team struggled to break down Fulham, Kiwior came under particular scrutiny for his role in allowing Raul Jimenez to score the opener for the visitors.
Kiwior, who stepped into the lineup due to injuries to key defenders, was given a rare start by Mikel Arteta. The Polish international had impressed in the latter stages of last season, showing promise as a reliable option in defence. However, his limited appearances this season reflect his position at the bottom of the club’s defensive hierarchy, and his lack of game time was evident against Fulham.
In the critical moment leading to Jimenez’s goal, Kiwior failed to decisively stop the Mexican forward, allowing Fulham to capitalise on a defensive lapse. The goal placed Arsenal in an early deficit and set the tone for a frustrating afternoon. According to Football Insider, many Arsenal supporters took to social media to express their disappointment, suggesting that Kiwior’s error was a decisive factor in the team’s inability to secure all three points.
Despite the criticism, Kiwior also had moments of competence in the match, demonstrating why Arteta continues to trust him as a squad option. Isolating one player for blame, however, oversimplifies the broader issues Arsenal faced in the game. The Gunners failed to convert their dominance into goals and left themselves vulnerable to such fine margins.
Arsenal must focus on improving as a collective rather than singling out individuals. While Kiwior’s error was unfortunate, the team had ample opportunity to recover and assert control over the match. To stay competitive in the title race, consistency and unity will be crucial in overcoming setbacks like these.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
What was his error? He got beat for pace – saliba played Raul onside and pulled his challenge on the shot. Not that any of these were terrible errors, it was good play and a great strike.
When he says “Arsenal fans” he means the knuckle draggers on twitter of course.
You always have those sensationlists. The most annoying surface level thinkers ever.. They are always out there looking for something to complain / moan about everyday.
Agree – it was well taken “individual opportunistic playing the percentages” goal. Both Kiwior and Saliba could have done better but these things happen. It is how the team responds and goes onto to get a result – look at how Chelsea responded later in the day.
It is a concern that players discarded or loaned out by Arsenal are performing better than our squad players. Perhaps Arteta management style has taken us far as he can go in terms of the PL, now that Liverpool and Chelsea have improved and we can only hope for a cup win and qualify for a CL place.
*Completely* agree with your first paragraph (really nice summary imo) but I think the only player who we’ve let go on loan or sold who’s arguably playing better than our squad players is ESR, and he’s not finishing games, which suggests they are managing his fitness – and I do still think we it was right to move him on rather than take the chance on his fitness again tbh. (Nelson is doing ok but he’d be underwhelming playing the same way for us, I think, and tavares is playing at a lower level – can’t think of anyone else)
About Kiwior and Saliba being at fault. Most people seem to be very biased. They will not point out Saliba’s poor start to the season because he is a fans favourite. But they will consistently sought out any little mistakes that our other defenders make. Saliba has not been very good himself so far this season, we are conceding goals with him as part of the defense.
And I see what you mean: “May be Arteta has this ceiling of just being very competitive but can’t cross the finish line”.
But we can’t say that Liverpool or Chelsea are truly back. It’s too early. We need more than a few months into the season for us to truly jump on the new Chelsea and Liverpool manager’s capabilities.
But on the “Arteta might have Ceiling” point I can’t argue too much with it as the evidence for these last two seasons and a half might show that. So we need to see how the rest of the season will play out..
👍
Kivior. Martinelli, who jumped offside despite being the fastest player on the pitch and having a clear view of Fulham’s back line which cost us the game winner. Trossard who sulks when he doesn’t start, but is mostly ineffective and invisible when he does. Gabby Jesus, who has all the cutting edge of a plastic spoon. Kai Havertz, who has been mostly invisible on the road. It’s always something or some combination of underachievers making avoidable mistakes or missing chances. The bottom line is this team has too many players who are either not good enough or consistently inconsistent for us to win anything.
PLEASE GO OUT AND BUY PROVEN GOAL SCORING STRIKER,S UNTIL THEN WE ARE WASTING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN TROPHIES ,SPEND THE FREAKING MONEY AND STOP BEING SO DAMN CHEAP THIS CANNOT WAIT UNTIL SUMMER. JESUS AND HAVERTZ ARE BOT TOO INCONSISTENT, SPEND THE DAMN MONEY KRUMPKE.
No need to shout, turn your caps lock off and also use spellcheck.
Totally agree with your brilliant summary
The bottom line is the manager. He hires these players, he trains them, he selects them, he gives them the directions. If any fan thinks we can win titles/cups with the likes of Gabriel J, Kai, Sterling, Zinchenco, Jorginho, all I can say, good luck and keep dreaming. If these highly paid players cannot grind results against Iwobi & Co (yes the same Iwobi who a section of our fans derated day in and day out and now we have players worse than him on high wages).We are not winning anything with Mikel, trust Stan & Josh to make the right decision this summer. Arsenal fans deserve better!
No mate he only signs the players that turn out ok ,all the other duff signings were made by edu .
The issue is on the left hand side.
We rely way too much on the right
We need a lb , partey or merino need to be in midfield, not party playing rb . Timber is bettwr on the right .
Zinchenko , tierney need to be moved on the latter is recovering but he is of no use, zinchenko isn’t even an option anymore even before his injury. Calafiori is still adapting to the league hence injury issues.
Yet we seem to lose so many players in training , I don’t get it. The other week it was partey ,myles and Calafiori, this week zinchenko
Tomiyasu- a decision needs to be in the summer
Jesus looks void of confidence and havertz was just wasteful, he scuffed a shot which was poor .
Arteta got it wrong yesterday- which happens but this injury issue is a problem now , the left side is an issue , martinelli people say he isn’t doing enough but look at when he does play his options to pass etc are nowhere near the same when saka and odegaard are on the right
The team isn’t fluid , it can be as we saw in the previous games but January a lb is required with zinchenko , tierney gone. We need a lb who is a lb and can play when calafiori cannot. Timber needs to be on the right.
What is it with Arteta and Sterling ? Did Edu buy Sterling without Arteta knowing about it ? If attacking players are jugded by assists and goals, why do Martinelli even play, and why does not Sterling start a game ?
i totally agree with you Ad, Timber plays much better at the right back, i was surprised to see Partey at right back, when he could have used Tierney at the left, even i know he doesnt trust him, but i prefer him to zincho. we really need a striker, left winger a sharp winger not just a winger, a left back who can invert well like Timber, i hope arteta rectifies this in January or else we lose the league again. i also wish he can give nwaneri more playing time that guy has alot of potential.
We have to have a scapegoat, it’s a part of our system
Kiwior might turn out to be our new Giroud or Xhaka. Blame them even if not warranted while other fan favourites are given a pass…
😊
Not just Kiwior at fault, but the left side players out of position.
Timber was inverted and no chance to recover, and where was Rice and DM Jorginho?
Team sacrificed organization for pressing and it cost us. Moving Partey and Timber was a mistake, but hey there is an obsession with inverting the LB; never mind the defensive hole like we saw, or our dead left side attack.
We have become so predictable tactically, and our solution is to play like Stoke City when plan A goes flat?
Before spending more millions, perhaps changing up the tactics? Gone is the fluidity, slick passing, and movement. The static positioning and obsession with possession is leaving us looking out of ideas.
No one is talking about the scuffed shot from rice when put through on goal by trossard, no one is talking about the missed header from Thomas partey, I think it’s high time you lot start recognising football is a team work, kiwior did nothing wrong since he was beaten Saliba was the closest to stop Jimenez from scoring. Fulham has been good at home, most teams would loose against them. A point is better than nothing. Please someone should tell arteta to give sterling a chance in the left wing position since martinelli has been poor.
It’s harsh on Kiwior. The reshuffled back four was not cohesive, Timber was playing really high and there were gaps throughout the game between Saliba and Kiwior. If we need to point fingers, ESR was totally free in midfield to pass to Tete who then set up Jimenez. We win as a team and we lose as a team. I don’t rate Kiwior highly but we don’t need to use him as a scapegoat. Martinelli’s off side mistake was far worse in my mind.
While I’m not a massive Kiwior fan, if you want to play the blame game. Then take a look at the attack, if Saka or Odegaard don’t produce we don’t appear to have much else to offer.
And if we are going to rely on our prowess from corners, some day soon opposition teams are going to be able to combat our corners better than they do currently, once they’ve studied Arsenal’s set piece’s more closely.