Following Mikel Arteta’s quotes refusing to rule out any January exits at Arsenal, the Italian media have jumped at the opportunity to rekindle some dying rumours.
The main one is that of Jakub Kiwior, who has been on the outskirts of the Spaniard’s plans since his arrival from Spezia in a €25m deal, with AC Milan interested.
Gazzetta dello Sport showcase the Arsenal player’s availability in a big article on Wednesday, as they look at some of the deals the Serie A side could try and pull off in the coming weeks.
There is a need for both a striker and a centre-back in Stefano Pioli’s squad, and while Jonathan David would be the ideal candidate up front, Kiwior is ‘the first name’ for the defence.
Despite only being 23, they see him as an ‘expert’ in Serie A, since he came through at Spezia, and he is ‘already used to mid-season transfers’ following his move to Arsenal last January.
Milan, down their end, will ‘keep a low-profile’, knowing that a permanent transfer will be difficult, which is why they ‘will try the shortcut of a loan’.
What happens beyond that depends on negotiations, as they could try and insert a ‘right of redemption’, with the belief that Arsenal ‘may open up to such a solution’.
For Arteta, he has ‘already made it clear that he will not block’ any deals if they are good, and the belief is Kiwior is ‘not irreplaceable’.
While a bit of an outcast at Arsenal, he would ‘immediately be a starter’ in Milan and would be another ‘brick to raise the defensive wall’, especially if he manages to recover his Spezia form.
