Polish report: Kiwior being held hostage by Arsenal | OneFootball

Jakub Kiwior’s Arsenal future is once again under scrutiny, with former Poland international Marek Koźmiński warning that the defender has become a “hostage” of the club.

With Poland set to begin their World Cup qualifying campaign against Lithuania, concerns over Kiwior’s lack of game time at club level have resurfaced.

Kiwi became a hostage of the club Super Express 20 Mar 2025

For Koźmiński, the situation is clear: Kiwior is not playing, not improving, and yet remains in limbo due to the £20 million Arsenal spent on him.

“Every transfer window, we go through the same spectacle: ‘Will he leave or will he stay?’ In this context, I get the impression that Kuba has become a hostage of the club. Or rather, a hostage of the amount that was spent on him,” Koźmiński told Super Express.

The Polish centre-back’s struggles at Arsenal are no secret. Since joining in January 2023, he has failed to establish himself as a regular in Mikel Arteta’s squad, his minutes sporadic and largely confined to cup competitions or emergency appearances.

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“It’s hard to say what to expect from Kiwior in the national team,” Koźmiński admitted. “Kuba has played very little for Arsenal in recent weeks. And when he did play, well… it wasn’t great. But that’s understandable: you can’t play only occasionally and expect to perform well.”

Calls to include Kiwior in Poland’s squad despite his club struggles have been backed by former midfielder Piotr Świerczewski, who argued: “Let’s be happy that we have a player in a top club and make use of that.”

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But Koźmiński takes a longer-term view. “I absolutely agree with Piotr. But in the long run – and in Kiwior’s case, it’s not such a short-term issue anymore, since it has been two years – you have to expect a national team player to be playing regularly at the club level.”

The problem, as Koźmiński sees it, is that Arsenal are reluctant to let Kiwior go permanently, seeking to recover their investment while potential suitors prefer a loan deal.

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“Now, I believe, Arsenal wants to recoup their investment. Meanwhile, interested clubs seem to be thinking, at least for now, not about buying him, but about taking him on loan. And so, we have the situation we’re in: an arrangement that is unfavourable for the player.”

For Kiwior, the immediate concern is helping Poland get off to a strong start in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

But the longer his club future remains unresolved, the more difficult it will be for him to reach the level expected of a regular international defender.