Arsenal and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior slammed for 'lost' display against Czech Republic

<p>Former Portugal boss Fernando Santos was in the dugout for his first match as the new Poland manager, though his debut ended with a heavy defeat in the European Championship qualifier.&nbsp;</p>

Czech Republic stunned their neighbours, taking a 2-0 lead inside the opening 140 seconds.

Ladislav Krejci and Tomas Cvancara bagged the early efforts as the hosts took complete control of proceedings in Prague.

Jan Kuchta added a third in the second-half before Damian Szymanski scored a consolation effort for the Poles.

After the match, the Polish media was highly critical of the display - in particular the central-defensive pairing of Arsenal's Jakub Kiwior and Southampton's Jan Bednarek.

<p>Poland's leading sports&nbsp;publication, <a href="https://przegladsportowy.onet.pl/pilka-nozna/reprezentacja-polski/czechy-polska-oceny-polakow-slabi-slabsi-najslabsi/1yfe54x" rel="nofollow"><em>Przeglad Sportowy</em></a>, handed Kiwior a 1/10 rating, saying: "Lost, insecure, restless, and the behaviour after conceding the third goal is already a tragedy."</p>

<p>Arsenal splashed over &pound;20m to bring Kiwior from Serie A outfit Spezia during the January&nbsp;transfer window.</p>

<p>The 23-year-old has made two appearances under Mikel Arteta, starting against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League and coming off the bench during last weekend's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.</p>

Bednarek was given a slightly better rating of 2/10 as the outlet questioned his charisma and skill.

"Only after a quarter of an hour did he recover from a dramatic beginning," wrote the publication.

"If, in the absence of Kamil Glik, he is to be the 'chief' of the defence, then ... he still has a lot to learn to manage the defence like a colleague over a decade older. Still not the size of the hat, not the charisma and skills."

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/arsenal-poland-defender-jakub-kiwior-slammed-lost-display-czech-republic">Arsenal and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior slammed for ‘lost’ display against Czech Republic </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>