Krystian Bielik is finally on the road to playing again after a frustrating season plagued by injuries, admitting that he’s had a tough time over the last few months.
Bielik signed a loan deal with Walsall in January but has yet to make a single appearance for them, suffering a knee problem on the back of a hamstring issue that he arrived at the club with.
Working back at Arsenal with a physio, Bielik finally joined up with Walsall for full training and is eager to get out on the pitch to play after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a series of injuries.
“I’m feeling good, I’m feeling better but the last few months have not been good for me,” Bielik told the Express & Star.
“During the winter transfer window I was injured. Then when I recovered from that I picked up a knee problem when I was training.
“Still now I’m not sure what happened. It was really painful. I had two injections in my knee. But now, step-by-step I am getting better.
“Someone told me the Championship and League One are similar physically so I’m ready for this.
“I’m up for this fight.
“I’m so excited to get out there, show my quality and do my best for Walsall.
“This season has not been good for me. I’ve only played four games. But we have got eight games left now and I will do everything I can to play all eight so I can help Walsall stay in League One.”
Bielik then went on to describe just what type of defender he is. “I like to play from the back,” he continued.
“I like heading, I like to fight and I like tackles – maybe I don’t look like it, but I do like a tackle.
“I don’t like kicking the ball all the time – long balls – I just play simple with my passing.
“And hopefully I can score a few goals as well.”
Under contract with Arsenal until 2020, big things are expected of the u19 Poland centreback who impressed many with his loan spell at Birmingham last season.
Bielik signed for Arsenal from Legia Warsaw in the winter of 2015 for just over £2m.
Due to a shoulder problem, he has managed just four Premier League 2 appearances this season, a total of 357 minutes. Two of those came in August with the remaining two in December.