Arsenal loanee plays 1st minutes of the season on international duty | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Jakub Kiwior played his first competitive minutes of the season for Poland on Thursday night, but Jurrien Timber was rested by the opposition.

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Jakub Kiwior completed a deadline-day loan move to FC Porto earlier this week, with the expectation that he’ll make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.

Though technically it’s only a loan with an option to buy, both Arsenal and Porto have the ability to activate the option, even if the other club doesn’t want to. So the likelihood of both clubs choosing not to activate it and Kiwior returning to Arsenal is very slim.

With his club future sorted, Kiwior’s attentions turned to Poland, with the club in action in a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands on Thursday night.

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Kiwior featured heavily for Arsenal in pre-season, but he hadn’t played a single minute of the first three games of the competitive campaign. Poland picked him as a starter anyway, using him as the left-centre-back in a three, with Nicola Zalewski and Matty Cash as wing-backs.

Though Jurrien Timber was involved in the squad for the opposition, he wasn’t in the starting lineup, and he didn’t come off the bench. Arsenal fans will probably be glad to hear that, as Timber’s non-involvement keeps him fit amid ongoing concerns about Ben White’s fitness.

The match finished 1-1, with Kiwior winning five of his eight individual duels, and making five clearances.

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The Netherlands and Poland sit level on seven points at the top of Group G, but the Netherlands have the advantage of a game in hand.

The Dutch side have a game away to Lithuania up next, whilst Poland play Finland at home to conclude their break.