Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said defender Jakub Kiwior was "ready" for the clash against Chelsea as he was handed his first Premier League start on Tuesday night. The Poland international was signed in the January transfer window for roughly £20million, joining from Serie A side Spezia.
The 23-year-old has been seen as a player with plenty of potential for the future, able to provide plenty of versatility. Upon signing, Arteta said to the official Arsenal website on the defender: "It’s great that Jakub is joining us. He’s a young versatile defender who has shown huge potential and qualities with Spezia in Serie A, and also at international level with Poland.
"Jakub is a player who will give us strength and quality to our defensive unit. We welcome Jakub and his family to Arsenal and look forward to working with him.” The youngster has been eased into the squad, but injury circumstances may have pushed forward his development.
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Injuries to William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu has left Arteta light in defensive options, leading the Spaniard to call upon a partnership of Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding. While the former has been a regular in the side, the latter hasn't and has been in line for plenty of criticism alongside the recent dip in form.
The manager has often been keen to protect his players and has deflected the impact from the injury to Saliba, but he eventually made a change on Tuesday night against Chelsea. Arteta decided to hand Kiwior his first start in the Premier League ahead of Holding, looking secure as the Gunners cruised to a 3-1 victory.
Discussing the decision, the manager told the press after the game: "He [Kiwior] looked ready, he looked fresh. He looked really determined, he's been getting better and better every single day. Not only training but his interaction, his language, he is more settled and is a player that I really like which is why we signed him.
"He’s got the potential at his age to be great and I think he had a big task against the players he had to face today and I think he did really well."
It raises questions over whether the youngster should have been involved sooner or not, but the decision to sign him could prove to be a coup for the side in building their team for the future.
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