Arsenal left with title regret as Chelsea win shows what could’ve been

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta may end up ruing his decision to not play Jakub Kiwior earlier this season. The Poland international put in an assured full Premier League debut against Chelsea on Tuesday and his performance may be cause for regret for his manager.

Kiwior joined Arsenal from Serie A side Spezia in January for a fee that could rise to £21million. He made 20 appearances for the Italian side in the first half of the season, so arrived in north London with plenty of minutes under his belt after also featuring for his country at the World Cup.

If Arteta’s first-choice defensive pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes remained fit, Kiwior was not going to get much of a look in. That was the same story for Rob Holding.

But Arteta lost Saliba in the middle of March with what now looks likely to be a season-ending back injury. The Frenchman’s absence has proven to be a huge blow in Arsenal’s title chances.

Arteta had the choice of promotion either Holding or Kiwior to being Gabriel’s partner. He opted for the more experienced Holding in a decision he may now regret.

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Arsenal failed to keep a clean sheet in the six league matches Holding started. They won just two of those games as their title hopes faded in front of their eyes.

Not all the blame can be put on Holding’s door. But his presence alone at the back had an effect on his other team-mates in the defence.

Holding has never been a first-choice defender for Arsenal when everyone has been fit and it appears he never will be. But at just 23 years of age, Kiwior has the potential to do that.

His first-ever Premier League start was never going to be a hugely tough test. Chelsea had scored just one goal in seven matches heading into the game at the Emirates.

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But Kiwior looked calm and composed up against former Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was defended out of the game and dragged at half-time by Frank Lampard. There will be tougher tests for Kiwior, including at Newcastle this Sunday, but the early signs are good.

After the game, Arteta heaped praise on his performance and outlined how big a player he can become. He said: “He looked ready, he looked fresh, he looked really determined. He’s been getting better and better every single day, not only in training but his interaction and his language.

“He’s more settled and he’s a player that I really like, that’s why I signed him. He has the potential at his age to be great and he had a big task against the players he had to face today, and I think he did it really well.”

Arteta’s hesitation about playing Kiwior earlier is the fact he is left-footed. It can be awkward using two left-footed centre-backs in the same defence.

Arteta finally bit the bullet and gave it a chance on Tuesday. Perhaps he will now be regretting not doing that sooner.

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