Arteta admits to making football difficult for this player

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in a recent statement has admitted he made it difficult for Jakub Kiwior at the club.

Arteta however, added that he is impressed by Kiwior’s work rate in recent weeks.

Recall that he joined the Gunners last January from Spezia, but barely featured during the run-in as Arsenal struggled defensively in William Saliba’s absence.

However, the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu has given Kiwior the chance to demonstrate his versatility by filling in at left-back.

Arteta said: “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.

“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.

“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.”