Freshly crowned Portuguese top-flight champions Porto have announced the acquisition of Jakub Kiwior from Arsenal.
The Poland international has spent the current campaign on loan at the Estádio do Dragão, immediately establishing himself as a regular starter in the best defense across Europe’s top seven leagues. Kiwior and co. have conceded just 15 goals in 32 league games. With that body of work to fall back upon, Porto had no hesitation triggering the $20 million (£14.7 million, €17 million) option to buy in his contract.
Arsenal could stand to make an extra $5.9 million “depending on the achievement of certain objectives,” while any further transfer for Kiwior will earn the Gunners a maximum of $2.4 million extra, as explained by a statement from Porto.
Kiwior was never a first-choice option during his two seasons in Arsenal’s squad after arriving from Spezia for a fee in the region of $22.9 million. The versatile defender grew into his understudy role and really blossomed at the end of last season when he was forced to fill in for the injured Gabriel.
After putting together a series of remarkably composed performances in success Champions League knockout ties against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, Mikel Arteta took it upon himself to single out the unsung star. “He deserves a lot of credit because he hasn’t played too much throughout many months and suddenly he has been thrown into the most difficult context,” the Arsenal boss gushed.
“At the highest level, playing against the best opponents when you haven’t had the physical rhythm or the confidence to do it, and I think he’s been exceptional.”
However, Arsenal have fared even better in Kiwior’s absence.
Kiwior Exit Paves Way for First Arsenal Buy of the Summer
Arsenal are at a delicate point in the financial landscape of the Premier League where they must consider sales as carefully as purchases. Now that one versatile left-footer defender has been officially moved off the books, the club can afford to bring in a younger, better upgrade for that exact position. Even better, they already know how well he will fit in.
The day after Kiwior’s loan deal to Porto was struck, Arsenal secured the temporary arrival of Piero Hincapié. The Bayer Leverkusen loanee has been arguably the club’s signing from an expensive summer, perfectly slotting into the left side of defense and embodying the dogged ideals of Arteta’s rugged outfit. “He’s a warrior,” the Gunners boss likes to say. “He will play through brick walls for you.”
The $20 million windfall from Kiwior’s sale will only cover a third of the $61.3 million Hincapié’s permanent acquisition is expected to cost, but it will certainly help.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal’s First Sale of the Summer Confirmed by European League Champions.
