Arsenal fans were left extremely frustrated by defender Jakub Kiwior for a costly error in the side’s first half clash with Fulham.
The Gunners have found it far from easy to face the Cottagers in recent seasons, but started relatively well in the opening stages.
That was until the first attack of the game for Fulham, where Raul Jimenez slipped in behind the Arsenal backline and punished the visitors with a laser-like finish into the bottom corner.
Many supporters were left frustrated with the defending on display from Jakub Kiwior, with the defender filling in for Gabriel Magalhaes due to injury.
Arsenal fans react to Jakub Kiwior display vs Fulham
During the build-up to the goal, Kiwior was caught out of position, stepping up and looking to cut out a pass to Jimenez.
The striker curved his run inside the Polish international, with the pass bypassing him and finding the Mexican international to score.
With Kiwior’s struggles in the match, fans were keen to stress the importance of the defender performing slightly better to deny Jimenez.
Taking to social media, one fan said: “That’s far too easy. Kiwior just let him breeze past,” while another added: “Big Gabi deals with that, Kiwior caught ball watching.”
“Really disappointing from Kiwior there, made a similar mistake against Liverpool too,” said one fan when pointing out the error from the defender.
“Kiwior is absolutely atrocious and the keeper has to do better. Horrible goal to concede. So basic,” another added.
The inconsistency of the rotational defender was addressed too, with a supporter claiming: “Kiwior – brilliant one game, mistake the next.”
On the granular detail, a fan outlined the difference between Kiwior and Gabriel, stating: “Kiwior. Aerial duels. His biggest flaw.
“Gabriel would have solved that problem before it became one by competing for the initial ball into Raúl. Arsenal in total control to start the game but one error and some top play from Fulham and you’re 1-0 down.”
It underlines the difficulty of having those squad players who are happy to sit in the squad for occasional minutes, but with the added difficulty of probably not being at the same standard as the first-team stars.
Gabriel Magalhaes quality hard to replace
With a centre-back pairing as dominant as William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, it’s tough to have anyone in reserves who can replicate their performance levels consistently.
It was something that cost Arsenal in that first season of the Premier League title push, with an injury to Saliba effectively ending their charge.
With Gabriel’s latest injury, it hadn’t cost the Gunners until that moment against Fulham, but the reality is it was going to be tough to replace him.
It’s why Kiwior is more than capable of sitting on the bench with less game time expected for his quality.
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