Ring 999, Jakub Kiwior’s inch-perfect tackle stole Kylian Mbappe’s soul
“[Jakub] Kiwior is alright, but he’s not Arsenal,” said Paul Merson before the first leg of the Gunners’ Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Merson has a history of premature judgements – who can forget his rubbishing of Kevin De Bruyne when he arrived at Manchester City – but most Arsenal fans would’ve shared his assessment of Kiwior.
After signing from Bologna in January 2023, the Poland defender has been a bit-part player of Mikel Arteta’s squad and has rarely convinced when he’s played.
“You’re asking someone who hardly plays – because he’s not as good as the other two – to come into a Champions League quarter-final,” Merson said.
“And you’re asking Kiwior to mark him. Kylian Mbappe, the best in the world or at least in the top three alongside Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
‘He plays on the shoulder and if he gets through, I just don’t see anybody catching him.
“And I think that’s the worry for me with Arsenal. They will have to win this football match and they have to chase it at times. That’s where it’s dangerous.”
Kiwior has actually played more regularly in the Champions League this season than the Premier League, making five starts and seven appearances in total in Europe.
But his performance on Tuesday, in danger of being overlooked in the glee over beating Madrid 3-0, could be the making of the 25-year-old.
His errant pass on 24 minutes put Mbappe through, who ended up offside and blazed the ball over, after a near mishap within the first minute when he mistimed the bouncing ball.
After this, Kiwior didn’t put a foot wrong as Arsenal’s defence led Madrid’s Galacticos into protective custody.
By the second half, with Declan Rice turning into Roberto Carlos and the Emirates crowd en fete, the sight of Kiwior in possession no longer transmitted anxiety.
As Madrid looked in vain to stem the tide, Mbappe attempted to drive forward with the ball only for Kiwior to pick his pocket.
With a perfectly-positioned leg and timing worthy of a medal, the defender whipped the ball away from his opponent to cheers of delight from the Arsenal supporters.
In an instant, the remaining fight in the Madrid ranks ebbed away.
Watching in the stands, we can only assume that Dua Lipa swooned as her fellow Eastern European put a generational great in his place.
Mbappe was becalmed. The Real Madrid forward, who destroyed Manchester City in February, was given a one-way ticket to the Kiwior penitentiary.
Kiwior has long been linked with a move away from the north London club, with this summer seen as the right time by many for the defender to leave.
Maybe that provided an extra motivation for his assured performance that showed he does have qualities that can’t be discounted.
Not that the chance to play Real Madrid wasn’t enough motivation, mind.
But Kiwior’s display was enough to silence the pre-match doubters and showcase that Arsenal’s defensive resilience isn’t entirely reliant on the missing Gabriel.
He has to do it all over again at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, but Kiwior will always hold fond memories of the night he shut down Mbappe in front of a raucous Emirates crowd.
By Michael Lee
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