Arsenal confirm £20m signing of Polish defender Kiwior

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 24 Jan 2023 07:12 GMT
• 4 min read

Arsenal have completed the signing of defender Jakub Kiwior from Spezia on a five-year deal.

The 22-year-old joins for a fee reported to be around £20 million and becomes the Gunners second signing of the window after the arrival of Leandro Trossard last week from Brighton.

A left-footed centre-back, Kiwior played in all four of Poland’s games at the 2022 World Cup and can also play at left-back or defensive midfield.

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“We’re delighted to have completed the signing of Jakub Kiwior,” Arsenal director Edu Gaspar said. “He’s a young talent who we’ve been monitoring for a while now.

“We are now all looking forward to working with Jakub and seeing his continued development with us.”

Manager Mikel Arteta added: “It’s great that Jakub is joining us. He’s a young versatile defender who has shown huge potential and qualities with Spezia in Serie A, and also at international level with Poland.

"Jakub is a player who will give us strength and quality to our defensive unit.”

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Arsenal wrapped up the deal for Kiwior fairly rapidly after news of their interest broke over the weekend, with the Gunners looking to move quickly for a player that had yet to attract major global attention.

Spezia sit 15th in Serie A and Kiwior has played all but two of their games so far this season, with his side having the fourth-worst defensive record in the league.

However, Kiwior is considered one of the best young defenders in Italy and has been among the top performers since joining Spezia in 2021.

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Kiwior will wear the number 15 shirt at the Emirates stadium and will likely provide cover for Gabriel Magalhaes at left centre-back.

Spezia sporting director Stefano Melissano spoke of the move, saying: “It’s a pride for everyone, from the club to the player. We are proud and happy that Jakub has this experience in one of the top ten clubs in the world.

“We’ve lost an excellent player and youngster, but we are still Spezia, we’ll continue to have our identity. We’re happy, our transfer market was the result of work planned previously."