Gooners were just in awe of this Jakub Kiwior Performance.
Arsenal stretched their winning run in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday, thanks to second half goals from very unlikely sources, Jurrien Timber and William Saliba. Both coincidentally scored their first goals of the season in the same game while the former scored his first ever in red and white.
The goals came from the barrage of corners that we used to torment United all game, the wicked and sometimes mesmeric deliveries from both Saka and Rice on the in-swinger was difficult for the Red Devils to contain with Arsenal duly taking advantage of that.
Before the start of the game, I along with many other gooners would’ve been worried due to the absence of some key personnel. Riccardo Calafiori and more importantly Gabriel Magalhães were nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad with Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior called to deputise for them in the starting lineup. My skepticism (should I say) of the Polish international, Jakub Kiwior, has been well documented on this platform. Not only do I think he’s not good enough but also he should be sold as soon as possible but after his performance last night, I might be reconsidering that stance, he was terrific!
Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United controls the ball whilst under pressure from Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Not only did he manage to keep Højlund and some United attackers quiet for much of the game, he also showed at times, his quality with the ball at his feet. I and I believe so many other gooners would’ve been impressed by this showing, more so taking into account that this was his first start of the season!
After the game, some of his match stats read:
Passes into the final third; 5
Tackles won; 2(100% win rate)
Aerial duels won; 2/3
Clearances; 3
And,
Recoveries; 3.
These are really impressive numbers considering the side he’s faced in his first start this campaign. There are some things that the stats won’t tell you, and one thing he did that was particularly exemplary of his confidence on the pitch against United was a situation late in the game, where he had the presence of mind to chest the ball back into Raya’s arms after a moment of danger. That along with many other instances of brilliance defensively were the highlights of a really strong showing from the Polish international.
The biggest compliment we can give to him is that we didn’t miss the presence of Gabriel at the back! It was a really top performance from a really top player, Arteta will do well to give not just him but other fringe players as well more game time on the pitch. We never know what we might uncover!
What would you all rate his performance against Man United gooners?
BENJAMIN KENNETH