Among all the drama and noise that pre-season brings, one Arsenal name has been forgotten, that of underrated Jakub Kiwior.
Signing from Spezia for a fee for £17.6m in January, Kiwior seems to be quietly climbing in manager Mikel Arteta’s estimations.
On pre-season tour we have seen Kiwior not just get opportunities as Gabriel’s understudy at centre-back, but also on the left side of defence.
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Kiwior has performed admirably in an inverted full-back role, something that is incredibly impressive so early in his Arsenal career.
Kiwior has perhaps made the biggest step up of any Arsenal signing given he came from lower-half Serie A side Spezia.
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Mikel Arteta mentioned that the Poland international had ‘huge potential’ when he signed and we’re now starting to see that.
And it’s not just pre-season in which Kiwior has impressed.
The defender entered the team ahead of Rob Holding towards the end of the season in difficult circumstances and more than held his own.
I don’t think many Arsenal fans would have expected such a role given he only joined in January.
Kiwior could now be the most underrated player at Arsenal
If the underrated label may have belonged to the likes of Ben White or Gabriel at Arsenal in the past, it’s now firmly in the hands of Kiwior.
Although not too much should be based on pre-season, it would even seem that Kiwior might be preferred as an inverted option over Kieran Tierney.
Tierney is obviously a superbly talented full-back but it does seem Arteta has doubts over the Scotsman as an inverted option.
In fact, just like Kiwior, Tierney could now have a case for being the most underrated player at Arsenal.
Kiwior’s flexibility across the back line is one of the many tools Arteta now has at his disposal this season.
He’s building a squad with endless tactical options, and Kiwior may just find himself in a fair few of them.