Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praises Jakub Kiwior performance

Mikel Arteta, Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba (Photo by Shaun Botterill, Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made an intriguing comment about the strong performance of Jakub Kiwior against Real Madrid last night.

The Gunners earned a memorable 3-0 victory over Los Blancos, with Declan Rice scoring two sublime free-kicks and Mikel Merino adding a third in the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final tie.

There were so many superb performers for Arsenal on the night as they fully deserved their win, but Arteta also gave special praise to Kiwior.

The Poland international would surely not have started the game if Gabriel Magalhaes hadn’t been injured, but he put in an assured display alongside William Saliba.

See below as Fabrizio Romano quotes Arteta as insisting Kiwior’s performance was “not a coincidence”…

??? Mikel Arteta: “We lost maybe our best defender for four months, then Jakub Kiwior comes in and delivers the performances he’s delivering…”.

“It’s not a coincidence”. pic.twitter.com/YdWLtR2Pc4

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 9, 2025

Kiwior has often had to make do with being a squad player, but he’s shown his value to Arteta by stepping up at such an important time.

It’s not quite clear, however, what Arteta is referring to when he says it’s not a ‘coincidence’ that the 25-year-old played so well.

No Gabriel, no problem for Arsenal

Jakub Kiwior in action for Arsenal FC (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Kiwior will need to keep on playing like this for Arsenal, as one imagines there’ll surely be moments to come when Gabriel’s absence will be felt.

The Brazilian centre-back has been a hugely important player for AFC in recent years, but for now it looks like Kiwior is a very capable deputy.

Arsenal have generally had a bit of a nightmare with injuries this season, with other key players like Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus missing a lot of games, while Bukayo Saka only recently returned.