Arsenal make ‘total’ U-turn as first January transfer takes shape

Arsenal have softened their stance on Jakub Kiwior and are now willing to loan him out in January, according to Italian media.

The Pole is enjoying some newfound importance to Mikel Arteta’s side amid injuries to Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori. Kiwior has played the full 90 minutes in three successive games, keeping two clean sheets.

However, this current situation is unlikely to last as Calafiori and Gabriel are expected to return to the fold shortly, which means that Kiwior will presumably have to drop down to the bench again before long.

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And it is precisely this which has attracted the attention of other clubs. With the exception of his current run of games, Kiwior has barely played this season and it is clear that this will make him a candidate to leave Arsenal in January.

Indeed, several clubs have expressed an interest in the former Spezia man, with Italian sides in particular keen on bringing him back to Serie A.

Arsenal agree to Kiwior loan

In recent days, it has been claimed that Napoli have become very serious about their pursuit of Kiwior, with some Italian reports stating that they were prepared to launch a €15 million bid for the defender.

However, Arsenal are said to be demanding at least €25m, while they also initially rejected talk of a potential loan. Now, however, Il Mattino claims that the Gunners have softened their stance regarding a temporary exit.

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It is asserted that Napoli have ‘totally’ managed to convince Arsenal to warm to the idea of a loan, with the Serie A sides willing to agree to a purchase obligation.

Arsenal responded by demanding a €3m loan fee and easy-to-achieve criteria for the obligation to trigger, such as playing just 10-12 games over the course of the second half of the season.

Napoli have yet to decide whether to agree to these conditions, but the Italian outlet claims that getting Kiwior in is the ‘first goal’ of the club for the January window.