Arsenal were far from their best as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal went into this fixture at Craven Cottage with the opportunity to reduce Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League table after the Merseyside club’s clash with Everton had been postponed due to poor weather.
Whilst the Gunners were able to close the gap on the Reds a little, Mikel Arteta will have been desperate to come away from West London with more than a solitary point in tow.
However, after Raul Jimenez struck the hosts ahead with around ten minutes on the clock, the Gunners always faced an uphill battle win. Jakub Kiwior was blamed for the goal by Arsenal fans, as he got drawn out of position and then outfoxed by the striker’s darting run.
Mikel Arteta speaks up for Jakub Kiwior after Fulham
Of course, Kiwior is not one of Arteta’s first choice centre-backs. However, Gabriel Magalhaes remained injured for this clash with Fulham, meaning William Saliba was without his usual partner in the heart of the rearguard.
The Poland international kept his place in the starting XI due to Gabriel’s enduring absence, but was not able to stake a claim for more regular game time with his performance.
Many Arsenal fans on X were critical of his display after the final whistle.
One said: “Kiwior same old. We concede goals if it’s a through ball or one on one, he is too slow and positions badly.”
Another stated: “Smash and Grab FC. Hurt us again. Kiwior is a braindead footballer.”
However, speaking in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Football.London, Arteta defended Kiwior.
The Spanish coach said: “I’m really pleased with the performance of Jakub as well. We had to change the whole unit. That’s it, they are not available. We have to respond to that and I’m very happy with the way they did.”
Is Kiwior good enough for Arsenal?
Arteta is known to be a fan of Kiwior. However, it is hard to imagine that the defender has much of a long-term future in North London.
At this stage in his career, the 24-year-old needs to be playing regular football in order to progress, but he is firmly behind Gabriel in the pecking order at Arsenal. There are clubs in Italy who are keen to sign Kiwior, so he should not be short of suitors should the Gunners seek to cash in in January.
However, given the Arsenal defensive injury crisis Arteta is already facing, with Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu all currently sidelined, it is hard to see how the sale of Kiwior could be justified this winter.
The time may have come for the manager to figure out a way of getting Kieran Tierney back into the team ahead of Kiwior, though.
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