Arsenal snub Milan’s request for ‘information’ about defender with ‘no chance’ of January transfer

Arsenal are not willing to let AC Milan-linked defender Jakub Kiwior leave the club in the winter transfer window, according to reports in Italy.

Kiwior has been strongly linked with a move away from the Emirates with lots of interest coming from Serie A.

The Polish international left Italy to join Arsenal in January, having caught the eye of Mikel Arteta after impressing for Spezia.

Minutes have been difficult to come by in England, though. Kiwior has only started 11 matches since costing the Gunners around £20million.

With Kiwior unable to break into the Gunners’ starting XI, he has been added to Milan’s transfer shortlist ahead of the January window, it has recently been reported.

But according to TuttoMercatoWeb, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has no intention to offload Kiwior.

The report says ‘there is no chance’ Milan will land the 23-year-old next month after they ‘tried to ask for information in recent days’.

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It is noted that Arteta would need to bring in a replacement if Kiwior is sold or loaned out mid-season.

Napoli have now joined the race as well, meaning they are vying for his signature alongside Milan and AS Roma.

With Arsenal top of the Premier League and in the last 16 of the Champions League, Arteta is eager to leave his squad untouched in a classic case of if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this season, Kiwior said he was relishing the competition for places at the Emirates.

“I wanted to play minutes as soon as possible but I was told that I needed to be calm, that I needed time to settle in,” he said.

“Those two months were important for me. It was a big change. I just tried to be focused in the training sessions and to get settled. The minutes eventually came, so it was a very valuable time.”

Kiwior added: “Every match is important but it was good for me that I played well against Chelsea. It motivated me to continue working hard.

“Then, scoring my first goal in the last match of the season against Wolves was special too. Of course, we were already winning, but it’s always important to score your first goal for a club.”

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