Jakub Kiwior has responded to Roy Keane after he brutally criticised the Arsenal defender for staying down injured just before the Gunners conceded a crucial goal to Brighton.
Kiwior, 23, lost his boot during a melee in Arsenal's six-yard box after a clash with opponent Evan Ferguson and stayed down clutching his foot in pain. Brighton then played in another cross while the Poland international was on the floor and his man, Julio Enciso, was left free to head home and make it 1-0.
Brighton scored another two goals in the game to inflict a crushing 3-0 defeat on the Gunners, whose Premier League title charge now needs a miracle to stand a chance of ending in success. Post-match, Keane slammed Kiwior for his behaviour and told fellow Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards during a debate over the incident: "His foot didn't come off."
The Polish centre-back then explained what happened from his point of view, telling Viaplay: "I felt contact and lost my boot and didn't even see the goal. I hoped VAR would intervene and chalk off the goal, but unfortunately, the ref saw it differently. After we conceded the second our heads dropped and we couldn't come back."
During the game, Gary Neville suggested that Kiwior should've battled through the pain for an extra few seconds in an attempt to deny Brighton the opening goal. "Kiwior is injured but the fact that he was injured, I mean... He goes down holding his ankle and left Arsenal short in the middle of the box,' Neville said on commentary, sighing.
"He goes down. Can he not just - I'm scared of saying it... And I'm sure the lads in the studio, Roy and Patrick [Viera], might be thinking it and have a bit more to say. If you're injured you're injured. But as a centre half, surely you just have to stand up and let the attack finish?"
Have your say! Should Jakub Kiwior have stayed down or got up? Join the debate in the comments section.
Enciso's opening goal proved to be the turning point at the Emirates, but it was far from a smash-and-grab performance. Roberto de Zerbi's high-flying side were fully deserving of their win, with the Brighton boss saying: "I'm pleased for the performance. It was a tough game and today was more difficult because on Monday we lost an incredible game.
"I'm really proud that my players showed our style and we showed character. Without this part of football, you can play well and score goals but without patience and mentality, you won't reach your targets. We are working to become a big team. We are not a big team yet but if you want to compete with a big team like Arsenal and qualify for Europe, we have to progress our mentality."
