Arsenal may have dropped a major hint over the future of defender Jakub Kiwior, who was missing from their matchday squad for their opening Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Gunners commenced their quest for top-flight glory with a somewhat nervy 2-0 triumph over Gary O'Neil's side, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka either side of the break.
Mikel Arteta's side had plenty of defending to do in between the two critical moments, but a familiar backline held firm, while goalkeeper David Raya also performed valiantly when called upon.
The Spaniard was protected by a familiar defence of Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who got the nod at left-back after a positive pre-season period.
The latter was covered by new signing Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber, who was passed fit to make the bench after shaking off a foot problem, but there was no space for Kiwior among the replacements.
Arteta opts for attack-heavy bench over Kiwior
The Poland international has been heavily linked with an exit from the North London giants, and Arteta opted to load his bench with attacking names over the versatile Kiwior.
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri was among the replacements, as were the likes of Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, both of whom could also leave before the transfer window slams shut.
According to football.london, Kiwior is not nursing an injury of any sort, and the decision to leave the former Spezia man out of the matchday squad was purely tactical from Arteta.
A return to Italy - either on loan or permanently - has been strongly mooted for Kiwior, who joined the Gunners midway through the 2022-23 season in a £16.6m deal from Spezia, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal.
The 24-year-old has scored two goals and provided three assists in 38 matches for Arsenal since touching down in North London, and Juventus are among the sides said to be monitoring his situation.
Can Arsenal afford to lose Kiwior?
Throughout the 2023-24 campaign, Kiwior did his best to prove his worth to Arteta as a flexible defensive option, featuring as both a centre-back and left-back to mixed success.
Kiwior was a regular fixture at left-back during their goal-laden spell in the New Year, but towards the end of the campaign, he lost his place to the equally adaptable Takehiro Tomiyasu.
While the latter is also rumoured to be up for sale due to his injury problems, Arsenal's left-hand side is extremely well-stocked with Zinchenko, Timber and Calafiori, the latter of whom can cover centrally too.
In addition, Kieran Tierney is still at the club - even if his future likely lies elsewhere - and academy gem Myles Lewis-Skelly earned minutes in a left-back role in pre-season.
As a result, should an interested party stump up between £20m and £25m for Kiwior, which would represent a small profit for Arsenal, the Gunners should have no qualms about selling him. body check tags ::
