It was 93 minutes, 1: 1 draw. Arsenal was already looking for the end of the match, and Real Madrid was still trying to score a goal and sent another cross into the penalty area. But Jakub Kiwior struck the ball again, who was like a rock throughout the evening. This time, however, he brushed with perfection, because not only that he gave the danger from under his own goal, the ball also fell straight to Mikel Merino's feet, who with the next pass created the opportunity to Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian ran several dozen meters and hit next to Thibaut Courtois, giving Arsenal to victory. The Pole should frame the beginning of this action into the frame.
If at some point he was frustrated and impatient in Arsenal, then a two -legged one with Real can reward him. It will always be part of the composition that he defeated the Royal in a two -legged one as much as 5: 1. He will engrave in the club's history as a participant in one of the most exciting battles in his recent history. He will always be the defender who suddenly jumped into the composition and stopped such stars as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. While in the first match there were small shortcomings in his performance, he played perfectly in the rematch. Way to go!
This is how dreams come true
But these are amazing days in the career of Jakub Kiwiora. This season, until April, he played for Arsenal only 910 minutes, for many months he sat on a bench, he was far from the first squad, but at the same time he was too valuable for the coach as a substitute to let him leave. The clubs from Italy asked about him, Olympique Marseille was seriously interested, but Mikel Arteta needed a player who would play as a stopwat and as a left defender. He got stuck for good. The queue for the game was, however, long, so frustration could increase. But finally – just before the most prestigious champions league matches – the defenders standing in it in front of Kiwiora began to fall out of it. At first, Riccardo Calafiori suffered an injury, then Gabriel Magalhaes. Kiwior jumped into the squad for the match against Fulham and kept him in subsequent league matches – with Everton and Brentford. But by far the biggest challenge was the meeting with Real Madrid in the quarter -finals of the Champions League, in which he had to stop Kyliana Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Juda Bellingham – despite the lack of regular game.
There is nothing to hide – the fans were afraid if he would manage. He started shyly, before the break he served too poorly to William Saliby, exposing the team to a dangerous counterattack and goal loss. But he grew in this match, he felt more and more confident and in the second half he was playing very well, which everyone appreciated – from fans, through journalists and experts, to Arteta himself. “He deserves great recognition”, “a quiet impressive performance of a Pole”, “improved after the break and was very confident” – wrote English diaries. – We probably lost our best defender for four months, and Kuba Kiwior came in and assured such performances. He showed what he could. This is no accident – said the Spanish coach.
It was clear that the Pole would also play in a rematch. Arsenal has heard warnings from everywhere: that even a three -break advancement does not give Real certainty that this team was already coming out of similar trouble, that in the Champions League it is immortal, that Bernabeu has magic. But can a footballer dream of a more beautiful moment? – I have never been there and of course it is a unique experience for me. I think this is one of the largest stadiums, so I'm waiting for this match. It is important that we remain calm, we have to win a rematch – said Kiwior himself before the rematch.
This action best summarizes the performance of the Kwór. “And he didn't even move his eyelid”
And if something about his performance in Madrid can be said, that he played calmly. Much calmer than in the first match. He reported – it is accurate. When he positioned himself in the penalty area – after a while he struck the ball. The match itself was well from his perspective, because Real began very nervously and impatiently. It was Arsenal who created more dangerous situations after counterattacks. Only after the first quarter of an hour Kiwior had to prove himself – he headed twice in front of his own goal, ahead of Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde, that he also blocked the strong shot of Lucas Vazquez.
It could also be liked how he played the ball. His applications were accurate, played with adequate force. And he was not looking for the easiest solutions and playing to a friend standing closest. On the contrary – he often sought Gabriel Martinelli set on the left wing. It was obvious that he was looking for a play that drives the team. At the end of the first half, Real took the initiative, and Kiwior returned to a solid work in defense – he scored a pickup on half of his rivals, when he warned Bellingham, he also blocked another shot from a distance (this time Aurelien Tchouameni).
The break did not change much. Kiwior was still sure, he still played the ball well. We often saw him suggesting to his colleagues how they should position themselves and whose places on the pitch should be looked after. At the beginning of the second half he made a slight mistake when Vinicius was charging with the ball, but after a while he managed to fix it. Later, he managed Endrick even better. At the end of the match, he got a action, which perfectly summed up his whole performance and best gave how calm he was on the pitch: Real crossed the ball into the penalty area, on Kiwiora he pushed one of the rivals, and the Pole calmly conquered the ball with his head, and after a while bounce her again, straight to the goalkeeper. He explained the situation. He averted the danger. And even his eyelid didn't move. He crowned the whole thing to Merino, which began a goal action.
Jakub Kiwior will remember this match forever. What a performance!
Really, looking at the scale of the challenge, few minutes played this season and the pressure in this two -legged, Kiwiora can only be praised after this match. He replaced a footballer who seemed indescribable. He stopped the offensive that was to be unstoppable. In the rematch he was a more reliable of two stoppers. He avoided such a serious mistake that would happen to William Saliba and ended his goal.
His performance can be summarized with statistics – he had four balls, two blocked shots, three won duels with four and 80 percent. exact passes (20 of 25). But you can also focus on basic observation – every time the ball was flying towards it, you could assume that he would do what you needed.
Maybe it will improve its position for the next season? Maybe he will attract new interested parties? Maybe it will conquer the value? He will definitely remember this match forever.