Arsenal are in the grip of a defensive injury crisis, so the last thing they need is an exit.
But that could come to fruition in the January transfer window, with a Gunners star expressing his desire to leave the club. Reports in Italy claim that Polish defender Jakub Kiwior wants to leave North London sooner rather than later.
It is suggested that he has become dissatisfied with the amount of opportunities he is getting at the Emirates Stadium. And Kiwior have even taken evasive action in an attempt to seal an Arsenal exit.
According to Il Mattino via Tuttomercatoweb, the defender has instructed his representatives to sound out new clubs. Italian side Napoli are among those interested, with Antonio Conte keen to sign the defender on a permanent basis.
It is suggested that Kiwior's agents will hold a meeting with Napoli in the coming week to discuss a move. The 24-year-old has three and a half years left on his contract after joining from Spezia in January 2023.
Since then, Kiwior has made 51 appearances for Arsenal. His request to leave the Emirates comes around a time when he was effectively a regular for Arsenal.
He had started against both Manchester United and Fulham before being dropped to the bench in the recent draw against Everton. The Gunners have been going through something of a defensive injury crisis in recent days.
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are long-term absentees for the Gunners, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori are also sidelined. On the Italian, Mikel Arteta recently provided an update with a hint that Arsenal could enter the transfer market to strengthen their options
“We simply respect the times set by the medical department. We keep an eye on him every day,” he said. “I never expect January to be super busy, but there are always some surprises. Hopefully the availability of the team has improved in recent weeks.”
Arteta added: “The window gives us the opportunity to strengthen the team if we think we need to and we think we have the capacity to do that. We are working on it and just have to assess the situation because it changes every time. I'm sure we'll be in a better place in a few weeks.”
Arteta will be hoping to have some of his injured stars back for this week's two games. The Gunners face a double-header against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League.
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