Now that Andrea Berta has officially become Arsenal’s sporting director, all eyes will be on which players he targets to hand Mikel Arteta the best chance of tasting success.
But a key remit of Berta’s job at Arsenal will be to ascertain which names should leave the Emirates Stadium and trying to strike the best possible deals for both the players in question and the club.
Mikel Arteta will also be hoping that the Gunners can sanction exits for as many players as possible who he does not believe possess the quality and desire to help them win major silverware.
One Arsenal player who has been linked with an exit is Jakub Kiwior. During the winter transfer window, Marseille were interested in signing Kiwior.
Bayer Leverkusen enquired about Kiwior’s future at Arsenal a few days ago as well.
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Arsenal willing to sell Jakub Kiwior as Napoli plot move
Mikel Arteta wishes to keep Kiwior and he was not on board with him leaving Arsenal when the winter transfer window was open.
The Polish international, who is a centre-back but can also play as a left-back has proven to be a reliable squad player.
But Kiwior was keen to leave Arsenal as far back in November as Mikel Arteta does not seem to fancy him as a part of the North Londoners’ backline anymore.
A report by TEAMtalk journalist Rudy Galetti has now revealed that Napoli, who have been interested in signing Kiwior since January remain open to bringing him to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Arsenal are willing to sell the 25-year-old at the right price and currently, they value him at a fee of £17 million.
The report states that if Napoli present the right offer, Kiwior could be the first sale of the Andrea Berta era at Arsenal. The Italian giants are especially willing to make moves in the transfer market as only then will Antonio Conte commit his long-term future to the club beyond 2027.
What Jakub Kiwior’s agent said about Napoli’s interest before Gunners move
Even Juventus were interested in Kiwior before and perhaps the reason why Serie A clubs admire the versatile defender is due to his impressive spell at Spezia before he signed for Arsenal two years ago.
But with Mikel Arteta having plenty of multi-functional defensive options to choose from at both centre-back and left-back, Kiwior is unsurprisingly not in his plans anymore.
On the other hand, Kiwior’s agent revealed when he signed for Arsenal that Napoli showed interest in signing him — which could tempt him into a move due to feeling wanted by the club.
Kiwior’s agent said via journalist Chris Wheatley: “Inter expressed their interest, Napoli, Milan and Juventus. Napoli wanted him for the summer. Milan waited, then you know what happens when the Premier League teams arrive.”
