Who is Jakub Kiwior? Arsenal's new €20m centre-back star

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 23 Jan 2023 19:36 GMT
• 4 min read

Arsenal have completed the signing of 22-year-old Polish defender Jakub Kiwior from Spezia for a fee in excess of €20 million with add-ons.

Kiwior, a full-fledged international, has been a regular at Spezia this season and featured in all four of Poland's matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He is expected to provide competition for places in the backline and improve the depth options available to Mikel Arteta, but who is he?

READ: Arsenal in ‘very advanced’ transfer talks over Kiwior - Fabrizio Romano

What position does Kiwior play in?

Kiwior predominantly plays at centre-back and he has featured at centre-back in a back four and in a back three, while he has occasionally played in defensive midfield too.

Mostly, however, he plays in the middle of a back three as that is Spezia's preferred system. He looks ideally suited to provide depth across multiple positions for Arsenal, but will need to make a transition to playing in a back four more consistently.

How good is Kiwior?

Kiwior is a very solid centre-back, who excels as the defensive side of the game, which is similar to current first-choice left-centre-back at Arsenal, Gabriel Magalhaes. He can be aggressive, but that is helped by the fact he plays in a back three and is given license to leave the defensive line to apply pressure if needed.

READ: Piero Hincapie: Who is €30m Bundesliga youngster linked to Tottenham and Everton?

He is a great box defender, capable of defending in a low block, which is something he may not need to show too often at Arsenal.

Kiwior is also very comfortable on the ball and has a lovely passing technique via his strong left-foot. Despite only playing in a European top five league in 2021, he has shone since stepping foot in Italy and has become one of the best defenders in the league.

Kiwior’s performances in Serie A this season have been formidable. He places among the best players in his position, according to SciSports, as he rates highly in all areas of the game, but particularly in terms of recoveries and prevention. Gunners fans will be delighted to learn that he does not have any clear area of weakness.

He's had a very interesting career so far, in regards to its progress. After spending the early years of his youth career at GKS Tychy in his native Poland, Kiwior joined Anderlecht's academy set-up in 2016. He spent two-and-a-half years in Belgium before moving to Slovakian side Podbrezova. Just six months later he earned a transfer to MSK Zilina, also a Slovakian club, before joining Serie A side Spezia in 2021.

He will now take a massive leap forward in his progression, but Kiwior's form over the past 18 months suggests he's ready to play Premier League football.

Which clubs are interested in Kiwior?

Before Arsenal's interest solidified, Chelsea were also keen on signing Kiwior. However, they opted to sign Benoit Badiashile from AS Monaco instead.

Now, Arsenal have landed the defender without much competition for his signature.

When does Kiwior's contract expire?

Kiwior is believed to have signed a five-year deal at Arsenal until 2028.

How old is Kiwior?

Kiwior was born on February 15, 2000. He is 22 years old.

What is Kiwior's Instagram?

Kiwior's Instagram can be found under the handle j.kiwior. He has 45K followers as of January 2023.