‘Arteta said no’ – Arsenal blocked £20m man from signing for European club who ‘really wanted’ him
According to reports, Mikel Arteta blocked Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior from leaving the Premier League giants during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners – who are second in the 2023 Premier League net spend table – spent around £20m to sign Kiwior from Serie A outfit Spezia during the winter transfer window earlier this year.
The Polish centre-back featured regularly for Arsenal during last season’s run-in as he covered for the injured William Saliba but he has barely featured for the Premier League side during the early months of this season.
Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are firmly placed as Mikel Arteta‘s preferred centre-back pairing so Kiwior has been restricted to just two Premier League starts this season.
Arsenal overhauled their squad during the recent summer transfer window with Folarin Balogun and Granit Xhaka among their notable departures.
Polish journalist Mateusz Borek has now revealed that Kiwior was wanted by La Liga outfit Sevilla during the summer.
“We haven’t talked about it publicly, but some time has passed,” Borek told Power of Futbolu (via Sport Witness).
“The topic is no longer hot and in hindsight, no one will be offended if we reveal the name of the club.
“Sevilla really wanted to loan Kiwior to join them in the last transfer window. The club was supposed to fight until the end, but it was not enough to convince the Arsenal coach. Arteta said no to Sevilla. That’s why Kiwior stayed at Arsenal.”
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Earlier this year, Kiwior revealed Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos was his “inspiration” when he was breaking through.
“When I was younger, I used to play all positions actually,” Kiwior said in an interview for Arsenal’s website.
“But I don’t know when I started playing as a centre-back. It helps me a lot. I think it was when I was playing in Spezia, I was put in a central position and didn’t understand why initially, but then I realised it was helping me a lot to understand other things.
“As far as playing my position is concerned, my inspiration was Sergio Ramos. We would often watch his video clips.”
He added: “If I start a match on the bench, I’m always prepared to go and play.
“I’m prepared for the team and for the coach to do my best. I think that everybody within the team has a very good relationship with the coach, the same as me.”
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