‘Unbelievable’…Ally McCoist stunned by £20m Arsenal star after ‘brilliant’ second-half moment

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal edged past Porto to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League but needed extra-time and penalties to do so – and Ally McCoist praised player Jakub Kiwior in the second half.

The Gunners came into the match after losing 1-0 in the first leg, but Leandro Trossard wiped out that lead with a goal just before half time. A closely-fought, hotly-contested affair that went the distance.

Eventually, Arsenal came out on top – dominating much of the match but still needing penalties to reach the last eight. David Raya the hero, producing two saves in the shootout and of course, a clean sheet.

Kiwior, 24, has made the left-back slot his own in the last few weeks – starting the last seven Arsenal games. The £20m signing impressed again, but it was a moment in the second half that caught the eye.

Porto broke on the counter attack with 69 minutes on the clock, and Francisco Conceicao saw a shot parried by Raya. The rebound, falling in the path of a Porto player – but Kiwior got his body in between.

He prevented a shot and while the offside flag went up, McCoist was impressed – saying on TNT Sports while co-commentating on Arsenal’s narrow win, which sees them knock Porto out of the competition.

“Not half [a brilliant block]. Kiwior does unbelievable. What’s he given, offside? But Kiwior done brilliant to shield his body between the player and the ball, boy we’ve got a game now,” McCoist said last night.

Ally McCoist stunned by Jakub Kiwior during Arsenal win v Porto

Alan Smith recently said that Kiwior is getting better with every minute he plays for Arsenal and his outing against Porot was proof of that. Excellent defensively, and contributed to the attack last night.

Statistically better than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk last month, Kiwior is going from strength to strength and his defending for that moment last night – without knowing it was offside – was super defending.