From the end of November Jakub Kiwior he could count on more opportunities with Arsenal. All this was the result of the injury suffered by Gabriel Magalhaes. The Polish representative played in the second half of the match against West Ham United (5:2), and then played all minutes in matches against: Manchester United (2:0), Fulham (1:1) and AS Monaco (3:0). Last weekend, he sat on the bench during the match against Everton (0-0).
In his last four appearances, Kiwior has been praised for game against Manchester United, but already against Fulham he had a large part in the goal that Arsenal conceded, which consequently led to the Gunners losing points.
Jakub Kiwior started badly, but Jesus saved Arsenal
On Wednesday evening, Jakub Kiwior received the opportunity to play from the first minute in the quarter-final of the English League Cup against Crystal Palace. In this match Mikel Arteta decided to make significant rotations. Kiwior formed a duo of defenders with Jurrien Timber, and on the bench sat, among others, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka.
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And the beginning of the match was the worst possible by Jakub Kiwior. Dean Henderson sent a long ball from under Crystal Palace's goal into Arsenal's half. Jakub Kiwior tried to head the ball, but missed it! This meant that Jean-Philippe Mateta controlled the ball, ran into the penalty area, won the physical duel with Kiwior and scored a goal to make it 1-0.
“Kiwior played the boss. It's unbelievable. The first action and such a bummer. It's as clear as it gets,” commented Radosław Przybysz from Viaplay.
The first half was marked by Arsenal having the ball and nothing came of it. It was obvious that Mikel Arteta had a poorly coordinated team and the first half ended with Crystal Palace leading. At the beginning of the second half, the Basque coach sent Saliba and Odegaard to play. He brought in Thomas Partey, Timber moved to right-back, and Saliba joined Kiwior in central defense.
Effect? Already in the 54th minute, Odegaard served a fantastic pass from Gabriel Jesus, and the Brazilian equalized the score with an elegant cut. In the 73rd minute, Bukayo Saka, who appeared on the pitch three minutes earlier, passed to Jesus, who scored a goal to make it 2-1! Replays, however, showed that the Brazilian was offside, but… there is no VAR in the quarter-finals of the English League Cup, so the goal was allowed. And eight minutes later Jesus completed his hat-trick when he ran halfway down the pitch after a brilliant pass from Odeegard.
And that wasn't the end of the shooting! In the 85th minute, Nathaniel Clyne crossed the ball into the penalty area between Saliba and Kiwiora, and Eddie Nketiah took advantage of it and scored a goal to make it 2:3 for his team! And just two minutes later, Kiwior was replaced by Gabriel. While the Pole was largely responsible for the first goal, he played better in the second half, but was slightly involved in Arsenal losing the second goal. Ultimately, the Gunners won until the end and advanced to the semi-finals of the English League Cup.
Arsenal – Crystal Palace 3-2
Goals: 54' 73' 81' Jesus – 4' Mateta, 85' Nketiah
This season, Jakub Kiwior played in 14 matches for Arsenal, in which he recorded two assists. It is not known whether today's match against Crystal Palace was one of the last ones this season for Kiwior in the colors of the London club. All because there is more and more talk about the Pole's potential move to Napoli.