Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior has been criticised for his most recent performance for Poland.
Poland were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Moldova on Sunday. Arsenal ace Jakub Kiwior was one of the players to particularly struggle during the match.
This international outing represented a rare start for Kiwior. Since his £20 million arrival at the Emirates Stadium in January, the 23-year-old defender has had limited opportunities to impress.
So far in his Arsenal career, Kiwior has managed just 11 appearances across all competitions. Three of those outings have come so far this season, but he has not featured in the Premier League since August.
With the likes of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of him in the pecking order, Kiwior will struggle to get minutes in either the heart of the defence or at left-back.
However, on the few occasions that Mikel Arteta has given the 15-cap Poland international a run out, he has shown flashes of quality. The former Spezia man is particularly strong on the ball, and has an impressive range of passing.
Given his lack of game time, though, it would be understandable if Kiwior is rusty and perhaps lacking in confidence. These factors may have contributed to his below-par display against Moldova.
Kiwior called out for dismal display
Polish publication Meczyki certainly expected better from the Arsenal man. After what they dubbed an “embarrassing” effort all around, they said of Kiwior specifically, “he looked very uncertain. He was late several times and also lost headers. He was definitely not a mainstay for the red and white team.”
They also rated his performance as a 3/10.
Kiwior will have been desperate to show a far better side of his game on Sunday, and perhaps even to send a positive message back to his club that may have given Arteta some pause for thought. Instead, he’ll now just want to forget about the whole thing.
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