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Football: Poland’s Kiwior joins Arsenal for £22m

23.01.2023 20:12
Polish footballer Jakub Kiwior has completed a move from Italy’s Spezia to Premier League giants Arsenal for a reported fee of £22 million plus add-ons.
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Jakub Kiwior will wear the number 15 shirt as an Arsenal player.
Jakub Kiwior will wear the number 15 shirt as an Arsenal player. PAP/EPA/Tom Weller

Poland’s international has signed for the North London club on a permanent deal until 2028, by means of which he’ll be pocketing £50,000 a week.

Kiwior primarily plays as a centre-back, but he is also capable of filling in other defensive positions, including left-back or defensive midfielder.

He made a name for himself in Italy, where during his one-and-a-half-year spell with Italian outfit Spezia, he appeared in 43 games and received mostly positive reviews.

The 22-year-old also showcased his skills at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, featuring in all four matches before Poland crashed out of the competition losing to France in the round of 16.

In total, Kiwior won 9 caps for his national team, where he played alongside the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Piotr Zieliński and Wojciech Szczęsny, who spent 9 years at Arsenal.

The defender will become the fourth Polish player to ever play for the Gunners, following in the footsteps of goalkeepers Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański, as well as defensive midfielder Krystian Bielik.

The Pole is expected to serve as a suitable substitute for left-footed centre-back Gabriel Magalhães and could potentially replace him in less important games.

Currently sitting at the top of the Premier League table, Arsenal are five points clear of the reigning champions Manchester City.

For the Gunners the ongoing campaign is the best since the 2003/2004 season when they famously went unbeaten and earned the nickname “The Invincibles”.

With the youngest squad in the league, Arsenal have successfully developed youngsters like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli into world-class players.

The move to land Kiwior is part of the club’s squad reinforcement efforts, as coach Mikel Arteta is looking to lead his Premier League side to win their first league title in 19 years.

According to reports, Kiwior’s transfer will become the fifth most valuable in the history of Polish players.

(pjm)

Source: Arsenal, Transfermarkt

Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Piotr Miszczuk.