93% passing, 11 clearances, 4 recoveries: £29.4m star was Arsenal's unsung hero vs Newcastle, flawless display - opinion
Arsenal qualified for next season’s Champions League following a 1-0 Premier League win over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had a tough start against the Magpies. They could have easily conceded in the opening 20 minutes.
David Raya made several stand-out saves to keep the score level until the break.
Arsenal stepped up their performance after the interval. Declan Rice bagged the winner with a fabulous long-range strike in the 55th minute.
Raya was the man of the match after making five key saves and keeping a hard-fought clean sheet against an in-form Newcastle outfit.
However, Jakub Kiwior was equally good in the heart of the defence for the London giants.
The Poland international started as the left-sided centre-back and moved to the right side at the break with William Saliba’s surprise substitution due to injury.
Despite the positional change, the 25-year-old was rock-solid in the backline. He had a passing accuracy of 93 percent, winning six duels contested.
The Poland international made 11 clearances and four recoveries. He also made a vital sliding tackle to prevent a very dangerous counter-attack.
Kiwior has been exceptional for the Gunners since Gabriel Magalhaes’ season-ending hamstring injury. He has been an unsung hero with his performances.
There were fears that he could be vulnerable with defensive errors, but surprisingly, William Saliba has been culpable for plenty of those over recent weeks.
Kiwior has been linked with a possible return to Serie A this summer. It has been reported that he could be sold for £29.4 million amid interest from Napoli.
With how he has been performing, Arsenal should decide to keep him in the squad unless Napoli are prepared to pay a much higher fee for his transfer.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Fotmob.com
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