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Jose Mourinho has praised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his handling of defender Jakub Kiwior. The former AS Roma manager also praised the Gunners for managing to come out with a goalless draw from Etihad against Manchester City last month.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mourinho said that he was pleased with Kiwior's performance against City, where he started as the left-back. He said:
"I am happy because I like the kid. And I am happy everything goes for him. But the way they [Arsenal] played to get that point – and the way the media spoke about a magic strategy.
“In my time, it was not a magic strategy, and I won at Manchester City a few times. But it was not an amazing strategy. It was a defensive game. Park the bus. Park the double bus. It was a different perspective."
Mourinho refused to include Arsenal in the Premier League title race while talking to John Obi Mikel on his podcast earlier this season. The former Chelsea manager named Manchester City as the favorites with Liverpool as his second pick for the title.
Arsenal fast-forwarded their move for Jakub Kiwior, reveals Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta spoke about Jakub Kiwior earlier this year and claimed that they decided to bring the defender in early to allow him time to settle in England. He added that they also wanted the Polish star to get comfortable in the new position and said:
"We made a decision to bring him in earlier, because we believed that whichever player we were going to sign to have the role that he had to have was going to need time, and that was the case. And we have made it difficult for him for two reasons: One, because he hasn't played that many minutes, and the second one because we asked him to play in a position that he's never played in before."
He added:
"So it's like putting William Saliba as a full-back, and saying, 'There we go, tomorrow go and perform and do what we have to do!' And I think he's adapted really well. I think he's playing better and better, you can tell that he's earning the confidence and physically he's better, he understands the role much better and he's been really good."
Jakub Kiwior has played 28 matches for the Gunners this season, but only managed 1586 minutes, after joining from Spezia last summer. He scored in the 4-1 win over Newcastle United and has provided three assists in the league this season.
