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Sasha Baranov, the agent of Jakub Kiwior, has claimed that Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus were keen to sign his client ahead of Arsenal.
Kiwior, 22, secured a permanent move to the Gunners from Spezia in a deal worth up to £21 million last month. Upon joining, he penned a four-and-a-half-year deal with the option of a one-year extension.
Speaking to TV Play, Baranov revealed that the three Serie A giants were interested in signing the nine-cap Poland international. He elaborated:
"All the important Italian clubs other than Inter Milan showed interest in Kiwior, including Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus. However, with Napoli's current situation, they didn't need to change their team in January and wanted to continue talks in the summer."
Shedding light on Arsenal's pursuit of the defender, Baranov added:
"You all know what happened at Juventus, while Milan also waited for him. But you know what happens when the Premier League clubs come in. When a side like Arsenal come along, it becomes difficult for a 22-year-old to say no.
"If it was Juventus or another big club coming in, it may well have been the same situation, but the Gunners are the only side who really pushed the talks forward."
Baranov also claimed that his client behaved in an amicable fashion after the north London outfit expressed their transfer interest. He said:
"We honestly didn't expect it to all move so fast, we thought he would stay in January and leave Spezia in June. Arsenal came in and the player did not put pressure on his club. He just said that if the move was to happen, then good, otherwise he was happy to wait."
Kiwior, who started 17 Serie A games for Spezia this campaign, is likely to provide competition to left-footed centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta welcomes new January signing Jakub Kiwior to his club
Speaking to club media, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts on Jakub Kiwior's arrival from Spezia. Welcoming him, he elaborated:
"It's great that Jakub is joining us. He's a young versatile defender who has shown huge potential and qualities with Spezia in Serie A, and also at international level with Poland. He is a player who will give us strength and quality to our defensive unit. We welcome Jakub and his family and really look forward to working with him."
The former Zilina man is set to don the number 15 jersey for the club.
