Arsenal have now set Juventus and Inter Milan their asking price for the transfer of a player who has ‘disappointed’ Ian Wright after rejecting their interest in a loan move.
The Serie A duo have sought to raid Emirates Stadium this summer as Mikel Arteta reshapes his ranks. Arsenal are in the market for reinforcements across the park but their arrivals may leave some players out in the cold. Arteta also left a range of stars on the fringes last season.
While William Saliba played all 3,420 available minutes of their Premier League games, Reiss Nelson (257), Fabio Vieira (292) and Emile Smith Rowe (346) featured for 10% or less. Aaron Ramsdale (540), Jorginho (920), Jakub Kiwior (945) and Eddie Nketiah (1,072) all struggled.
Juventus remain keen on Jakub Kiwior’s transfer after Arsenal reject a loan approach
Juventus and Inter Milan are interested in offering Kiwior an escape route from his situation at Arsenal with a transfer. But Gianluca Di Marzio now tells Goal.PL that the Gunners turned down approaches from the Bianconeri and Nerazzurri trying to sign the 24-year-old on loan.
Both Serie A sides asked the north London giants for information about his availability in the market this summer. But Arsenal are only open to letting Kiwior leave if it is for a permanent transfer. So, Inter Milan are unlikely to advance their interest but Juventus remain an option.
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Di Marzio believes Juventus could still decide to target Kiwior’s transfer from Arsenal having appointed Thiago Motta as their new manager. The Italian coached the centre-half at Spezia before Arsenal paid an initial £17.5m, plus £3.5m in add-ons, to sign Kiwior in January 2023.
Arsenal would want to turn a profit on their investment to sell Kiwior so quickly, so have put a €30m (£25m) price tag on a transfer. He is under contract through to June 2028 and is only the 28th best-paid player in Arsenal’s wage bill. Kiwior agreed to a £58k-a-week deal to join.
Jakub Kiwior ‘disappointed’ Ian Wright during a mixed 2023/24 season
Emirates Stadium chiefs believe they can demand €30m (£25m) given Kiwior has four years on his contract. Even though he only played 945 minutes across 20 Premier League matches last season, starting 11. Arteta gave him 30 games for 1,594 minutes across all competitions.
Kiwior had a few fine displays last term but also had plenty of bad days, especially at Fulham on New Year’s Eve and as Arsenal played Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie. Arteta also hooked Kiwior at half-time given his issues at Craven Cottage.
His troubles against Der FCB also ‘disappointed’ Wright, who felt Kiwior was ‘scared’ and did not know how to handle Leroy Sane. Arteta seemingly agreed as he, again, took the Pole off at the break. Kiwior even ended the season behind Takehiro Tomiyasu in their pecking order.
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