Arsenal have been rocked as it has emerged that one member of Mikel Arteta’s squad has asked his agents to find him a new club and wants to quit the Emirates Stadium, according to a fresh report.
Arsenal stumble to another draw
The Premier League title is beginning to slip away from Arsenal, as another draw left them in third place in the top flight. A dull 0-0 affair against Everton, in which the Gunners lacked any real invention despite dominating possession, saw them drop two points.
It proved a real missed opportunity for Arteta’s side, with Liverpool also drawing and Manchester City being beaten, leaving Chelsea the only side to gain from the weekend’s action as they moved four points clear of the Gunners with a 2-1 win over Brentford.
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It is clear that something is wrong in north London, despite Mikel Arteta’s insistence that his side deserved all three points.
“Very disappointing not to win the game. We fully deserved to win the game,” he told the BBC. “We conceded no shots. We dominated play. When we generated big chances we didn’t score a goal.”
The Gunners now face a favourable run of games in a bid to try and get their season back on track, including games against relegation candidates Crystal Palace and Ipswich, and they will be hoping that their form can pick up.
As it stands, they have drawn the joint second most games in the top flight (6), form which will not be good enough to see them made champions come the end of the campaign. But they could be set to play the second half of the campaign without a member of their squad.
Defender wants out and asks agents to plan exit
That is according to a shock report from Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, which claims that Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior has asked his agents to “find him a new team”. The Polish defender has appeared 13 times for the Gunners so far this season, and started in Gabriel’s absence during their win over Manchester United and their draw with Fulham.
Appearances
13
Starts
5
Total minutes played
644
Goals/Assists
0
Yellow Cards
0
Signed from Spezia in January 2023, he has been linked with a return to Italy on several occasions since and now is seemingly keen to make that move a reality. According to the report, he “now wants to leave Arsenal” and has “asked his agents to ‘find him a new team’”, with Napoli being the frontrunners for his signature.
Indeed, it is suggested that the “player’s entourage will be in Italy soon to have a meeting with Napoli”, though it is unclear whether it will be discussing a deal in January or in the summer transfer window.
Similarly, there is no mention of a fee for the 24-year-old, who still has almost four years left to run on his £3m a year deal in north London, while Arsenal shelled out £25m to sign him just two years ago, during which time his value is unlikely to have decreased.
Though he has struggled for gametime in north London, his potential was singled out by Polish icon and teammate Robert Lewandowski, who dubbed the defender “extraordinary”.
“Listen to me, this is a real player,” he said. “I noticed it during the warm-up before the match against the Netherlands. In training, it’s very difficult to see certain things. Then I saw him in the match, extraordinary. Really great potential.”
With Arsenal’s defence in something of an injury crisis, a sale would likely need a significant fee in January.