Image via @Arsenal on Twitter
It was with some fanfare that Tomasz Włodarczyk first broke the news just over a week ago that Jakub Kiwior would be joining Arsenal on a €25 million move, with the Gunners usurping several other top clubs around Europe to secure the 22 year-old’s signature.
We’d known for a while that Kiwior would not be staying at Spezia for much longer, and those of us with a vested interest in Polish football were hoping whatever move he made would be good for his development. Having chosen Arsenal, it’s a bit of a 50/50. He’ll probably spend most of his time on the bench, but Kiwior is still young and has joined a team very much on the rise.
Recent Polish players have fared pretty terribly in England: Bartosz Kapustka at Leicester City, Jarosław Jach at Crystal Palace, Michał Karbownik at Brighton, Kamil Józwiak at Derby and Przemysław Płacheta at Norwich. Admittedly these last two are slightly different in the sense that Józwiak and Płacheta have played well without much end product, and there is still time for Płacheta (although time is fast running out). It does have to be pointed out that Jan Bednarek has played well and been selected regularly in England since his arrival at Southampton in 2017, and the same can be said of Jakub Moder at Brighton.
The difference between all of these players and Kiwior is that the other Polish talents have been plucked directly from the Ekstraklasa, whereas Kiwior has had time to develop in Serie A. I think it’s clear to all of us that the jump from Serie A to the Premier League is a lot shorter than from the Ekstraklasa to the Premier League, or even the Championship.
That’s why I’ve got a lot of confidence that Kiwior will be able to break this recent trend, and could be a key part of this Arsenal squad as they develop and perhaps get even better in the years ahead. €25 million is a fairly small outlay in modern football for a promising young defender, so there isn’t too much pressure for Kiwior to come in and perform right away.
Arsenal have got themselves Poland’s most promising defensive talent, and hopefully this will be good news for both Poland and the current Premier League leaders for the rest of the season and future Premier League campaigns.
For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.
Comments