Jakub Kiwior starred at the heart of Arsenal's defence as they kept a crucial clean sheet in their 3-0 Champions League demolition of Real Madrid
Jakub Kiwior claims no physical training could have prepared the Gunners backline to face Real Madrid. Instead, the Pole revealed he studied video analysis and simply knew he had to do a vast amount of running to stop Kylian Mbappe and Co in their tracks. The 25-year-old centre-back excelled alongside William Saliba as the pair helped nullify the Real Madrid superstar to claim a precious clean sheet ahead of next week's return fixture at the Bernabeu. While Mbappe squandered a glorious chance in the first half, the jet-heeled 26-year-old forward was virtually non-existent after the interval as Arsenal put Los Blancos to the sword.
Much of that was testament to Kiwior's quality and he told Canal+ Poland when quizzed on his shoutout of the Frenchman: "We analyse a lot before the match. We also know these players very well. We know what their strengths are and that they are very fast.
"You can't fully prepare for this during training, only mentally. You have to prepare for the fact that there will be a lot of running, a lot of very fast running. You have to prepare for this before the match and realise it during the match."
Kiwior has made a real impression at the heart of Arsenal's defence since Gabriel Magalhaes was sidelined with a hamstring injury. The former Spezia ace, signed in a £20million deal in January 2023, also won the man of the match award on Saturday following the 1-1 Premier League draw at Everton. He claims Arsenal did not feel any pressure when they arrived at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, explaining: "It was an important match for us. We felt it especially today. But when we arrived at the stadium, we didn't put any pressure on ourselves in the locker room. We knew very well who we were playing against, but we kept a cool head and scored a goal. And from that moment on, we controlled the course of the game."
Kiwior made four ball recoveries and was not dribbled past once against Real Madrid. He also completed 57 of his 61 passes on the night as Arsenal totally controlled the second half against the shell-shocked Galacticos.
Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Kiwior, who has spent most of the season in the cold, warming the bench. The Spaniard said: “We lost probably our best defender for four months, Jakub comes in and delivers the performances he’s delivering. It’s not a coincidence.” Having previously attracted interest from Italy and French giants Marseille, the Poland international was initially expected to pursue regular playing time elsewhere at the end of the campaign. But his last two performances have highlighted his importance within the squad, even if minutes have proven hard to come by throughout the season.
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