William Saliba has defended Arsenal teammate Jakub Kiwior after the January signing was criticised for his performance in the 2-2 draw against Sporting CP. Kiwior completed a £21million move from Spezia to the Emirates Stadium and made his full Gunners debut against Sporting on Thursday night.
The Polish centre-back has impressed for Arsenal Under-21s despite finding it hard to break into the first team given the strong parternship between Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Kiwior was criticised for his role in Sporting's equaliser in the first half after he appeared to duck away from the ball, allowing Goncalo Inacio to head home for the hosts.
When asked about the 23-year-old shying away from challenging for the ball and allowing Inacio to score in his post-match press conference, Arteta responded: "I don’t know what it was. It happened in a split second but for sure in that space somebody cannot have a free header and concede a goal.
