Jakub Kiwior has admitted he turned down an offer from West Ham United before eventually making an unexpected move to Arsenal.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 14: Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on May 14, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on May 14, 2023. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Jakub Kiwior joined Arsenal in the January transfer window, and he ended up on a fast-track into Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup after the injury to William Saliba and subsequent defensive struggles for the team.

Kiwior broke in during a derby-day win over Chelsea, and he won plenty of praise after the subsequent clean-sheet victory away to Newcastle United.

But before all of that, Kiwior admits that whilst he always hoped to play in the Premier League, he did turn down an offer from West Ham United ahead of his Arsenal move.

“It was more about the league,” Kiwior told Wprost (via Sport Witness). “I had an offer from West Ham United before, which I turned down. They weren’t on the table, but they showed up.

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“Then Arsenal came along and that was something special for me.

“I was very happy because the best league for me has always been the Premier League and I really wanted to play there, and when I found out about Arsenal, I couldn’t believe it.

“I think I’m at the right age for the best moment in my career and to move forward. I’m happy that I changed clubs and got a chance and ended up in the starting lineups. It gave me a lot of confidence and I felt much better as a player and as a person.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 28: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates with team mate Jakub Kiwior after scoring their sides fourth goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on May 28, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates with teammate Jakub Kiwior after scoring their side’s fourth goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on May 28, 2023. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Kiwior caught the eye once again with a goal for Poland against Germany over the recent international break.

The defender has become a key fixture in the Poland team over the last year or so, making his debut last June and playing all but three minutes of Poland’s 13 fixtures since then.

That includes four starts at the World Cup, where Kiwior clearly did enough to convince Arsenal he was worth a January bid. But the one thing missing from his first year in international football was a goal.

That situation was rectified last Friday, as Kiwior netted in a friendly against Euro 2024 hosts Germany.

WARSAW, POLAND: Jakub Kiwior of Poland celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's first goal during the international friendly match between Poland and Germany at Stadion Narodowy on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Getty Images)
WARSAW, POLAND: Jakub Kiwior of Poland celebrates with teammates after scoring their side’s first goal during the international friendly match between Poland and Germany at Stadion Narodowy on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Getty Images)

Now that the break is over, Kiwior will go off on his holidays, before joining up with his Arsenal teammates for pre-season next month.

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