Kiwior

With Saliba out for Arsenal’s remaining games, why isn’t Arteta giving Kiwior a chance?

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 19: Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on March 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Is Kiwior a panic buy or just a space taker? by Shenel

There is one thing that is confusing me a little where Mikel Arteta and his team selection is concerned, William Saliba is out injured and Jakub Kiwior is constantly on the bench.

Why?

Did we buy him just so he can warm the bench up and make up that extra number in the team? Or will he be used when it is too late?

We bought him in January, obviously because the club saw something in him, or know something about him that Arteta thought would fit well into the team. He is a known centre-back and can fill in for Saliba, yet he doesn’t get a look in for one reason or another.

Because Arsenal are not playing him and they are not giving him a chance, we will never know if he can perform to the level required or not as it is hard to tell when a player is benched.

Now I do not want to speak negative about Rob Holding, but there is no denying that since he has come in, the defence has become shaky.

Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Gabriel and even Alex Zinchenko do not look confident, solid or comfortable anymore.

And we used to have a solid defence, but since Saliba has been out we have become weak in that position.

Yet Arsenal went out in January and bought Kiwior who was recommended to them clearly by a scout. Well why haven’t they given him a chance to play?

Yes, he played in the first Europa League match against Sporting Lisbon and was shaky, but a player that hasn’t been given game time surely needs backing and more game time? In fact, since the Lisbon game, he has made two League appearances totalling a whole 14 minutes!

What I don’t understand is why buy players if you don’t play them?

Kiwior deserves a chance, and maybe Holding needs a rest, and then if it doesn’t work out they can put Holding back in if Saliba is not fit enough to play.

But now is the time that Arteta needs to take some risks and make some changes especially to that back line, or he will be at risk of chucking the title away even more.

Well let’s put it this way, there’s no harm in trying something new. We have dropped six points in three games, so it can’t get any worse right?

Shenel Osman

@sh3n3l_


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28 Comments

  1. Shenel, you ask why Arteta hasn’t played Kiwor at CB ? The reason is Gabriel is always available. Arteta likes to play a right footed CB on the right and a left footed CB on the left. Simple really.

    1. Yes, it’s for the balance of our passing from the back. Holding and White tend to pass to the right side of the field, whereas Magalhaes and Zinchenko make more passes through the left side

    2. This. I didn’t even read the article beyond “Saliba out injured”, because this is the answer. Anyone who has been following Arsenal knows that.

      Besides Kiwior is not ready for PL crunch games yet, even if he was right-footed.

  2. Kiwior is not the answer at this stage. Ring rusty. He is one for next season or the odd sub appearance.

  3. Kiwior is bought as he’s a natural fit in for Gabriel Magalhaes.

    Hindsight is 20/20 , had we known Gabriel will not get injured for this campaign, we could have loan him straight back to the selling club as he’s really getting rusty on the bench as we had seen in the Lisbon game.

    But it’s not a panic buy Genel, next campaign he will get a good preseason and a lot of competitions to keep him honest.

  4. Its stupid that we loaned Maitland Nailes out , we could have easily played with Ben White at cb with AMN RB….i still cant believe we sold Willock for 25million and bought FabioViera for 35

  5. Fosulli! It is unbelievable. But then after watching Willock’s masterclass for Newcastle against the Spuds we have to wonder, “where did that come from”? Is it the same player who stumbled around indecisively at Arsenal? And why were we unable to tap into his potential? The lad is now brimming with confidence and some of his passing was world class.

    1. Joe.S, Willock didn’t “stumble around indecisively at Arsenal”; he rarely had opportunity to show his talent due to nonselection.
      Once sent out on loan to Newcastle to get consistent playing time, he had shone.
      In my view another one Arsenal showrd per judgement on.

    2. Joe, i don’t know what you were watching but Willock in the Europa league was fantastic and never given a chance in the league. He was let go because Arteta didn’t rate him.

  6. By the way unwanted appearance of videos by Onefootball and Arsenal FC in particularly, on this site is making posting on Just Arsenal a nightmare.

  7. Totally agree on both counts Ozziegunner. The videos are a major distraction. What I wanted to say about Willock, without pointing the finger of blame on anyone was that he was not nurtured properly at Arsenal. Simply there was no one on the field to provide him with direction and like Maitland Niles, Nelson and Smith Rowe he got tossed to the lower rungs of the pecking order.

  8. Why on earth are we bringing Willock’s name back after one good game? He’s got something like 2 goals and 5 assists for a team sitting in 4th place. So far he’s simply a “good” premier league player and would still only get a handful of appearances in the current Arsenal squad. Vieira has been poor but Willock would be a minor upgrade, and we need a major upgrade if we’re looking to keep evolving.

    Stop with this nonsense sentiment.

  9. As I mentioned in an article yesterday, the decision to spend around 50m on Veiria and Kiwior is not looking like a sound investment, but let’s hope they prove me wrong.The obsession of having a left footed CB with a right footed partner is rebounding on Arteta .Apart from the great Nesta, Maldini partnership, all the great CB partnerships have consisted of right footers and I cannot recall one top pairing of left footers.Indeed prior to the World Cup finals Spain moved Rodri from DM to right centre back as the pairing of Torres and Laporte was unbalanced.The same would apply to Gabriel and Kiwior, neither of whom can barely kick a ball with their right foot.

  10. I really don’t know how to respond to this terrible article, so will rather not say anything more on the matter.

    Here wishing Saliba a speedy recovery.

  11. Holding is just that – a holding player. Excuse the pun but he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does he? And his presence is, as another poster said, having an adverse effect on his teammates.

    1. With respect, that is garbage.Certain fans are putting Sa!in a on a high pedestal when the fact is he has not been immune to errors which have directly cost us goals.He is a very promising centre back but he is not a World Class player by any means.

      1. Forget it Grandad
        Everyone on here has their favourites (including us but to a lesser extent) just like MA and many managers before him.
        I think Holding has been excellent so far. Only thing you could say is that he does not have the right chemistry with Gabriel.
        We need 2 holding midfielders against City to not overload Partey. We need a proper fullback as I see the main problem as Mahrez and Grealish (not Haaland). If this means no Odegaard and use Zinchenko (who can stpe in and step back) instead along with Xhaka so be it. We have to flood the midfield.

  12. We are playing like a team that is addicted to either winning or drawing by the seat of our pants. We can’t just win by a straight forward 1-0 or 2-0 like champions do. They are addicted to playing emotional games that get everyone hailing them as passionate. Stop giving opponents chances to beat us. Topsy-turvey, helter-skelter performances are not doing us any good. Kiwior should have been integrated by now.
    Team for City game should be:
    Ramsdale,Tierney,Gabriel,White, Saka,Partey,Xhaka,Odegaard Martinelli,Trossard,Jesus.City defenders are suspect.

  13. It really boggles the mind why Arteta is not giving Kiwior a chance despite the failings of Rob Holding. We’ve seen the panic attacks Holding gets each time he faces an opposing player. First he turns his back, runs into his eighteen yard box before he either grabs, fouls or impedes his goal keeper’s view. He’s got both height and speed, but has no clue how to use them in his advantage.

    1. I take it you didn’t watch our FA Cup game against City, when Holding marked Haaland. Haaland hardly had a goalscoring opportunity.

  14. Everybody deserves a fair trial before being judged. Jacob Kiwior has not been given much chance and that has been a mistake. At least he should have been playing about 20 minutes a game to acclimatise him to EPL as well as making him used to his teammates. Perhaps these are some of the lessons which Mikel is learning.
    As far as Fabio Vieira is concerned I will reserve my comment but whenever I see him on the team sheet I become apprehensive! He has failed to adapt to the Premier league so far. He needs to consult Martinelli who overcame his earlier hurdles and is now one of our best players. Since they speak the same native language it will be very easy to understand him. That notwithstanding, we have enough options in midfield including ESR who would do much better than Vieira. However let’s believe that the coach knows better.

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