Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane slam Arsenal star for his role in Brighton's opening goal
Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior was slammed by Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane for his role in Brighton & Hove Albion's opening goal.
The Gunners suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at the Emirates on Sunday (May 14) with Julio Enciso scoring the opener in the 51st minute. Kiwior was stepped on by Evan Ferguson in the build-up of the goal. The defender stooped down holding his foot as Enciso found the back of the net.
Manchester United legend Keane was unhappy with the way Kiwior carried himself in that situation. telling Sky Sports:
"A big, strong centre-half staying down like that … really? You’re talking about putting your body on the line; it’s last-ditch stuff. You don’t stay down like that just because your boot comes off. His foot didn’t come off! His boot did."
Arsenal hero Patrick Vieira concurred:
"You expect your centre-back to be strong enough to stay on his feet and defend the ball first."
Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan scored in the 86th and sixth minute of injury time respectively to make it a night to forget for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta's men are now four points behind league leaders Manchester City, having played one game more. They have 81 points from 36 game. City will win the title by beating Chelsea next Saturday (May 21).
Arsenal star Jakub Kiwior reacted to incident against Brighton
Jakub Kiwior has been receiving criticism for his role in Brighton's opening goal. The Arsenal defender shared his take on the incident, telling Viaplay:
"I felt contact and lost my boot and didn't even see the goal. I hoped VAR would intervene and chalk off the goal, but unfortunately, the ref saw it differently. After we conceded the second, our heads dropped, and we couldn't come back."
Kiwior joined the Gunners from Spezia in January. Apart from his mistake against Brighton, the central defender has been pretty solid so far. He has made six appearances.
In Kiwior's defence, he's only 23 and is relatively inexperienced. The Pole is certainly a talented player and could become a mainstay at the heart of Mikel Arteta's team's defence in the coming years.