Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has admitted he made it difficult for Jakub Kiwior at the club.
However, Arteta says he is impressed by Kiwior’s progress in recent weeks.
The 24-year-old signed for the Gunners last January from Spezia, but barely featured during the run-in as Arsenal struggled defensively in William Saliba’s absence.
With Saliba reforming his partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of the defence, chances had been few and far between, especially in the Premier League, for Kiwior until the turn of the year.
However, in the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kiwior has demonstrated his versatility by filling in at left-back.
Kiwior’s promotion to the starting XI has coincided with Arsenal’s blistering run of form which has shot them back into title-winning contention.
Arteta said: “We made a decision to bring him in earlier because we believed we were assigned to have the role that he had, but he was going to need time and that was the case.
“We have made it difficult for him for two reasons: one because he hasn’t played that many minutes, and secondly because we’ve asked him to play in a position that he’s never played in before.
“I think he has adapted really well and he is playing better and better, you can tell that he is earning confidence and physically, he is better.
“He understands the role much better and he has been really good.”
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