Arsenal have signed their fair share of fodder in the past, including Denis Suarez, Shkodran Mustafi, or Kim Kallstrom – who had a broken back for crying out loud.
However, over the last couple of years under Mikel Arteta, the north Londoners have become much better at bringing in players who either improve the starting lineup or at least improve the squad as a whole.
While players like Gabriel, Declan Rice, and Leandro Trossard get plenty of deserved plaudits, there is another fairly recent arrival who should end the season with his head held high.
In fact, this player has become such an important member of the squad this year that he's now worth considerably more money than Thomas Partey.
Jakub Kiwior's Arsenal career
The player in question is Polish defender Jakub Kiwior, who Arsenal signed for just £18m in a surprise transfer deal last January from Serie A side Spezia.
Unfortunately for the then 22-year-old, he was coming into a team with a relatively settled backline, so he wasn't able to get many minutes. Even when William Saliba missed the end of the campaign with an injury, the manager opted to trust long-term stalwart Rob Holding instead.
This move led some to question why the 6 foot 2 titan was even signed in the first place, but following an injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko against Liverpool in February of this year, the Tychy-born ace was given a chance in the first-team, and he took it.
While he had played more as a centre-back with his previous teams, the versatile "monster," as data analyst Ben Mattinson described him, did have some experience playing on the left of the defence and took to the role like a duck to water.
He started the following nine games in all competitions, helped the team keep five clean sheets, and even picked up two assists and scored a goal to go along with the assist he provided off the bench against Liverpool.
Appearances
30
Starts
18
Clean Sheets
14
Goals
1
Assists
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.13
It wasn't all plain sailing for the Polish international, as he had a rough time against Bayern Munich, getting spun by Leroy Sané at the Emirates. However, overall, when he's started this season, he's been brilliant, as evidenced by the number of clean sheets he has helped keep and his new valuation.
Jakub Kiwior's valuation in 2024
According to CIES Football Observatory, Kiwior is now worth €30m, which converts to around £26m, or £8m more than Arteta spent on him a year and a half ago.
1
Destiny Udogie
€80m (£68m)
Tottenham Hotspur
2
Pedro Porro
€60m (£51m)
Tottenham Hotspur
3
Levi Colwill
€50m (£43m)
Chelsea
4
Ben White
€40m (£34m)
Arsenal
5
Malo Gusto
€30m (£26m)
Chelsea
5
Jakub Kiwior
€30m (£26m)
Arsenal
5
Reece James
€30m (£26m)
Chelsea
Interestingly, this new valuation means that the 24-year-old is the joint fifth most valuable full-back in London this season, alongside Chelsea right-backs Malo Gusto and Reece James.
Closer to home, it also means the former Spezia star is worth more than Thomas Partey, whom the CIES has priced at €10m, about £9m, or around three times less than his Polish teammate.
2020/21
33
3
21
2021/22
26
3
19
2022/23
40
2
6
2023/24
15
2
26
Total
114
10
72
Now, this isn't to say that the defender is three times the player. Instead, it's likely because the former Atlético Madrid ace is set to turn 31 next month and has a dreadful injury record.
In the last four seasons, the 6 foot 1 star has suffered from ten injuries that have seen him miss a staggering 72 games for club and country. Add his severe injury problems and age to the fact that his contract is set to expire next summer, and it is abundantly clear why his value is so low.
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However, this doesn't take away from how impressive Kiwior's new valuation is, and while he might not be Arsenal's number-one defender, he has more than proven his worth this season.