Arsenal player reveals he ‘turned down’ Premier League rivals before completing his £20m transfer
Poland international Jakub Kiwior has revealed that he “turned down” a move to one of Arsenal’s Premier League rivals before his move to the Emirates.
The 23-year-old was one of Arsenal’s signings during this year’s January transfer window. They paid around £20m to buy him from Serie A outfit Spezia.
Kiwior was drafted in to start alongside Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal’s last five Premier League games of the 2022/23 season. This came after Rob Holding struggled in their 4-1 defeat to Man City.
The left-footed centre-back performed pretty well for the Gunners in these games and he will hope to make a bigger impact for the Londoners next season.
Kiwior has revealed that he was “very happy” when he found out that Arsenal were interested in him.
“Super. It was something special, but it’s hard for me to describe it. I was very happy because the best league for me has always been the Premier League and I really wanted to play there, and when I found out about Arsenal, I couldn’t believe it,” Kiwior told Wprost (via Sport Witness).
When asked if Arsenal were his favourite club growing up, Kiwior brought up that he previously “turned down” West Ham.
“No, it was more about the league. I had an offer from West Ham United before, which I turned down. They weren’t on the table, but they showed up. Then Arsenal came along and that was something special for me.
“I think I’m at the right age for the best moment in my career and to move forward. I’m happy that I changed clubs and got a chance and ended up in the starting lineups. It gave me a lot of confidence and I felt much better as a player and as a person.”
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Kiwior will have a role to play next season but he could be impacted by the arrival of Jurrien Timber, who has reportedly ‘agreed’ to join Arsenal from Ajax.
Dutch journalist Johan Inan thinks Timber will be a “major loss” if his move to Arsenal is completed.
“There are some cynical supporters who are not sorry about it, but if you analyse it all carefully, you will see that this is really going to be a major loss for Ajax,” Inan said.
“He has the Ajax DNA, which Mislintat finds very important, and in Ajax’s defence, he was the only one who was very comfortable on the ball last season.
‘If Timber leaves, it seems to be a second gap year for Ajax, because Mislintat will have to replace a lot of players.
“It is going to be a big job to get quality, leadership, club DNA in the selection and football ability in the rear. Those wishes are all there, but he still has to guarantee it.”
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