“He is overrated in my opinion, he did no shit against us in the first leg”- Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior makes ‘eyebrow raising’ comment about Kylian Mbappe ahead of Arsenal’s second leg at the Bernabeu
Jakub Kiwior makes comment about Kylian Mbappe ahead of Arsenal’s second leg against Real Madrid
Before Arsenal even kicked a ball against Real Madrid last week, there was a lot of concern about Gabriel Magalhaes’ absence.
Mikel Arteta recently described Gabriel as Arsenal’s defensive leader, a figure they’ll have to live without until the end of the season.
And before Arsenal faced the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, fans in N5 were pondering whether it would be best to partner Jakub Kiwior or Ben White with William Saliba.
Of course, Arteta chose the Poland international and Kiwior was solid against Mbappe for most parts – the 25-year-old really grew into the game after a nervous start.
And now ahead of facing the France international for a second time at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, Kiwior has actually spoken about Mbappe.
Jakub Kiwior speaks about Kylian Mbappe’s ability
Speaking in an interview with Arsenal’s club website, Kiwior initially spoke about his feelings after the first-leg, an opportunity that he perhaps hadn’t expected.
Kiwior is ready to leave Arsenal owing to his lack of opportunities, but this Champions League run could still add a million or two to the defender’s price tag.
Speaking about Arsenal’s 3-0 first-leg win, Kiwior said: “After the game I felt really good. You know that after a game like that, there’s no other way, you just feel really good, but I still feel like it’s not over yet. The most difficult thing is still ahead of us. So I’m still cool-headed.
“I didn’t feel nervous. Of course, this was one of the biggest games in my career. But of course, I had the big game [against Kylian Mbappe] in the national team, but I was ready for everything, and I felt very good before the game.
“Every clean sheet is perfect for me, because this is my job on the pitch. Mbappe is very quick, he is a very good player, one of the best strikers for this moment.
“I have to be ready for everything. Of course Gabi could’ve played this game but he’s injured, and I have to be ready for everything. I didn’t wait for this moment, but I hope he comes back very quick and we can train together fighting for the one position.”
Mikel Arteta might have another selection dilemma
Of course, Arteta might also have a selection dilemma again when Arsenal travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Thomas Partey has told Arsenal’s players about facing Real Madrid away from home, something he often did with Atletico Madrid.
However, Partey is an injury doubt after coming off with an issue against Brentford after scoring last weekend.
If Partey weren’t available, Arsenal would presumably turn to Jorginho as their number six rather than moving Declan Rice out of his advanced role.
However, Jorginho would still be a significant downgrade on Partey physically on evidence of the Ghanaian’s efforts in the first leg – a dominant performance against an impressive Madrid midfield.
