Mikel Arteta has been thrilled at the progress made by Jakub Kiwior in recent weeks with the Poland international finally beginning to find his feet as an Arsenal player.
The 24-year-old joined the Gunners last January from Italian side Spezia but featured only sporadically during the run-in as Arsenal struggled defensively in the absence of William Saliba.
With the Frenchman reforming his partnership with Gabriel at the heart of Arsenal’s defense, chances had been few and far between, especially in the Premier League, for Kiwior until the turn of the year.
In the absence of injured duo Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kiwior has demonstrated his versatility by filling in at left-back.
Kiwior’s promotion to the starting XI has coincided with Arsenal’s blistering run of form which has shot them back into title-winning contention.
The Pole’s rivals for the left-back spot are all nearing a return to fitness, as is Jurrien Timber, who started the season in that position, but it would be no surprise to see Kiwior start at Bramall Lane on Monday night against Sheffield United.
‘We made a decision to bring him in earlier because we believed we were assigned to have the role that he had, but he was going to need time and that was the case,’ said the Arsenal manager.
‘We have made it difficult for him for two reasons: one because he hasn’t played that many minutes, and secondly because we’ve asked him to play in a position that he’s never played in before.
‘It is like pulling William Saliba into full-back and saying: ‘tomorrow, perform and do what we have to do.’
‘I think he has adapted really well and he is playing better and better, you can tell that he is earning confidence and physically he is better.
‘He understands the role much better and he has been really good.’
On whether the role of left-back has been adapted to suit the player, Arteta added: ‘It’s all about that.
‘At the end of the day, you can ask players to do things that they don’t feel capable of, especially doing it in an unnatural way, so we have to tweak a few things to make sure that players play to their strengths.’
