Former Poland international Jacek Bąk has told Super Express that Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior lacks the level and self-confidence to feature regularly for a top club in the Premier League.
The defender has had to mainly settle for a limited playing time since he joined the Gunners from Spezia in January 2023. His situation changed after Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered an injury in February.
Kiwior has started in every fixture since coming off the bench in Arsenal’s league win over Liverpool on February 4th, and Mikel Arteta has used him as a left-back in these fixtures.
The north London club will host FC Porto in the Champions League clater today and Super Express state the 24-year-old has no better opportunity to prove his worth than this crucial tie.
Despite losing the first leg 1-0, Bąk is confident that Arteta’s side will progress to the last eight of the European competition.
“He’s on a roll. He plays regularly, assists, and scores a goal. All this is encouraging in the context of the play-offs [for Poland] that await us. But… I was a bit worried about the last change in the Gunners’ league match,” he said.
Zinchenko has returned from injury and replaced the Poland international in the second half of Arsenal’s win over Brentford at the weekend.
The newspaper suggests the former Manchester City man’s return could result in Kiwior being left out of the starting lineup in the upcoming fixtures. Meanwhile, Bąk has given his stance.
“I watch Kuba’s matches and I still cannot escape the impression that, despite his enormous potential, he hasn’t yet reached the level required in a team like Arsenal to always play from the first to the last minute,” Bąk explained.
“Kiwior is sometimes too easy to play in one-on-one situations, and he lacks the self-confidence required of a defender in the Premier League, which is built not so much on league matches, but performances in such competitions as the Champions League.”
