Amazing Kiwior replacement: Arsenal sold Hale End's next best gem for £1.5m

After Arsenal‘s very underwhelming 1-1 draw with Brentford, it’s now all eyes on the Bernabéu for Gooners everywhere.

Last Tuesday, the north Londoners smashed Real Madrid 3-0 in North London, Declan Rice scoring two sublime free-kicks before Mikel Merino lashed home a third; this was their 515th match at the Emirates, and most would agree this was the stadium’s best night.

So now, Mikel Arteta‘s team will travel to the Spanish capital seeking to avoid a vintage Real Madrid remontada, but would they stand a better chance if they didn’t have Jakub Kiwior in the backline?

Jakub Kiwior’s record deputising for Gabriel

Back on 1 April, during a 2-1 home win over Fulham, Gabriel suffered a serious hamstring tear that required surgery and means he will not feature again this season.

This was a major blow because Gabriel is arguably deserving of Arsenal’s player of the season, having been immense in both boxes throughout the campaign.

So, in the Brazilian’s absence, Kiwior continues to deputise, which fans were concerned about because during the Polish defender’s previous Premier League start, coming at Craven Cottage all the way back on 8 December, his ‘lethargy or lack of awareness’ proved to be a costly error, allowing Raúl Jiménez to open the scoring.

Kiwior’s last 19 starts for Arsenal
Wins	13
Draws	6
Defeats	0
Goals conceded	13
Clean sheets	9

Nevertheless, Kiwior was actually pretty solid against Real Madrid, with Arteta hailing his performance as “phenomenal”.

That said, did the Gunners let a future upgrade leave in January?

Ex-Arsenal centre-back impressing at Premier League rivals

Back in January, Ayden Heaven departed Arsenal to join Manchester United, for a reported compensation fee of £1.5m.

Heaven joined Arsenal from West Ham as a 14-year-old, his senior debut coming against Preston North End in the EFL Cup, having played a prominent role during the pre-season tour of the United States.

However, frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities, Heaven decided not to sign a professional contract, instead moving to Manchester United earlier this year.

Well, in the short term, this move paid off, making four appearances before actually suffering a serious foot injury against Leicester, although Rúben Amorim confirmed the injury ‘is not as bad as initially feared’, adding ‘he will play again this season’.

So, let’s have a look at Heaven’s career in numbers so far.

His early performances for Man United earned rave reviews.

Andy Mitten of United We Stand believes he was Man United’s “best player” at the King Power prior to his injury, proving he’s more than up to the task at Premier League level.

In the meantime, manager Amorim believes he has got “a very good player” on his hands, adding that he is “really comfortable with the ball” and impressively “aggressive” defensively.

James McNicholas and Laurie Whitwell of the Athletic reported that Arsenal did not want to lose the young defender, but were forced into a sale, so would the Gunners actually be better off in the immediate term had they held onto Heaven?

Well, it would certainly give them more defensive options. Kiwior and William Saliba were forced to start yet again on Saturday, and who knows, the teenager may have been poised to feature in the remaining weeks of the season had he stuck around.