Thread by @Jan8Nemec

[Thread] Jakub Kiwior, Arsenal's new Polish Guardian💂

In this thread, I'll be showcasing and analyzing what Jakub can add to the Gunners🇵🇱

Please share and leave a like on the tweets if you like them and let me know your thoughts! Let's kick off! #Kiwior

🎨| @afcbrxwn

Jakub Kiwior is a 22-year-old Polish defender who has played for Italian Serie A side Spezia Calcio. The left-footed versatile defender has made 20 appearances for Spezia this season in their quest for survival in Serie A.🔥 #Kiwior #Spezia #Arsenal

Jakub started his career at Polish side GKS Tychy and moved to Anderlecht's academy in 2016. He then moved to Slovakia to Podbrezova and 7 months later to MSK Zilina. His performances granted him a move to Spezia on the 31st of August in 2021 for €2.20m💪 #Kiwior #Spezia

Jakub is now also a regular Polish international and has 9 caps for the Polish national side. He made his debut on the 11th of June in 2022 against the Netherlands. He is deployed as a CB for the national team and has played all 4 of Poland's World Cup games in Qatar. #Poland

Kiwior has made 43 appearances for Spezia in his 1,5 year there. In his first season at Spezia he has mosty played as a defensive midfielder while this season he has been playing as a centre back in a back 3, with playing either on the left or in the middle of the 3🤚 #Kiwior

Based on Spezia's setup this season he has played in a back 3 as a ball playing defender. He was deployed either on the left side or in the middle of the 3. With this system he has been able to show his technical qualities as well as his defensive intelligence. #Kiwior 🧠

Kiwior has played a variety positions in his career though and as mentioned before in his first season at Spezia he was deployed as a defensive midfielder. That sort of versatility isn't anything new for Arsenal targets and I'm sure Arteta picked him for this reason among others.

As seen in one of his heat maps where he played as a DM he mostly operated on the left side just outside the box in his own half. This space in the Arsenal setup is usually occupied by Gabriel Magalhães and you can't help but wonder if that's where he'll be deployed at Arsenal.

Since we're comparing him to Gabriel lets take a look at the stats. Although Spezia's and Arsenal's setups are very different it's essential he needs to be a duel monster and in the air he is dominant force. Ball recoveries and Interceptions are crucial in Arsenal's system aswell

Stat wise he seems to be a very good fit for Arsenal, a tall duel winning machine with an eye for a pass? That's Arteta's dream. Let's take a visual look at his capabilities... #Kiwior #Arteta #Arsenal

The most impressive quality that Jakub has is his reading of the game, of the next step that is likely to happen and he's always positioned in a way to perfectly intercept, block or tackle opponents. He is also very comfortable in 1v1 situations against attackers💪 #Kiwior

I thought looking at his actions when he played as a defensive midfielder were also worth looking at. His reading of the game makes him win the ball back higher up the pitch which could prove to be very useful for Arsenal with the quick transitions the club likes to attack with⚡️

We can't forget about the quality that probably most impressed Arteta: his calmness on the ball and the ability to pick out a pass. Jakub averages 46 passes per game this season with a 85% completion rate and his IQ makes him outsmart and beat defenders with quick movements🎯

It's impressive in how many defensive actions he leads with numbers: Jakub makes 1.49 interceptions per game, 4.17 clearances per game and 1.12 blocks per game. If you add aerial success rate (65%) to that he is statistically one of the best CB's this season.💪

There are however some flaws to his game: He is not the fastest defender and gets dribbled past at least once (1.00) per game. He also has a fairly poor percentage of ground duel success (53%) but at the age of 22 he will undoubtably only get better and better💪 #Kiwior

In my opinion it's fantastic to see Arsenal be active in this transfer and add much needed quality depth with Trossard and now Kiwior. Both will significantly raise the competition for places and get Arsenal closer to fighting for multiple trophies🙏

🎨| @backarteta

[End of thread] I hope you liked my analysis of Jakub Kiwior. If you enjoyed it please press the like button and retweet so it can reach a larger audience.

Hopefully he goes on to have a long and smashing career at Arsenal!🔥

I would like to shout out 360edition and Brazil Scout as I've used clips from their Youtube compilation of Kiwior. A huge shoutout to @afcbrxwn aswell for his Kiwior edits! Go give him a follow and a some kind words for his work!🔥

youtube.com/@360edition
youtube.com/@Brazilscout

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