Given all of their injuries and suspensions this season, Arsenal have had to lean on their extended squad, even before the fixture list becomes very crowded.
Mikel Arteta was reluctant to deviate from his strongest eleven at Arsenal last season – something he was criticised for when his side ran out of steam.
Of course, Arteta’s hand has been forced so far this term, mostly owing to Martin Odegaard’s injury.
However, the Arsenal boss has also had issues at the back too, with both Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber suffering regular niggles, as well as William Saliba’s brief suspension.
Although, even with all those missing, Jakub Kiwior is yet to start a Premier League game for Arsenal this season.
Kiwior has managed 321 minutes in all competitions, but the vast majority of those have been in the EFL Cup.
Mikel Arteta explains what Jakub Kiwior needs to start doing at Arsenal
From the outside, it seems fair to conclude that Arteta has lost trust in the Poland international.
Kiwior struggled against Liverpool when he came on to replace Gabriel Magalhaes who suffered an injury.
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Arsenal paid £18m to sign Kiwior in 2023 – he’s not someone who arrived in north London on the cheap.
And that therefore explains why Arteta has been asked about Kiwior’s lack of involvement of late.
Speaking at his press conference prior to facing Inter Milan, Arteta explained what the defender has to do in order to play more.
He said: “Especially with all the qualities that he has and when puts them at the service of the team, that’s it.
“When he has the opportunity to play those minutes and show that he’s got the level that we think he has to help us perform and win football matches, that’s it.”
Not the most straightforward answer, but Arteta appears to be crying out for Kiwior to simply take his chances as a substitute at first.
Edu was optimistic about Kiwior could achieve at Arsenal
When he signed for Arsenal in January 2023, Kiwior looked like an exciting left-footed alternative to Gabriel at the back.
Since, Arsenal have found an upgrade in the form of Calafiori, who’s arrival surely ends any long-term prospect of Kiwior staying at the club.
Speaking at the time of his arrival, Edu seemed confident about the progress the Poland international would make in north London, something that ultimately hasn’t happened.
Edu said: “We’re delighted to have completed the signing of Jakub Kiwior. He’s a young talent who we’ve been monitoring for a while now.
“We are now all looking forward to working with Jakub and seeing his continued development with us. We welcome Jakub to Arsenal.”
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