Jakub Kiwior has revealed how he personally persuaded Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to let him leave for Porto this summer.

Reports had suggested that the north London club were keen to offload the Polish centre-back, but Kiwior insists that was not the case.

The 25-year-old made 68 appearances for the Gunners and became increasingly important last season, starting both legs of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final clash with PSG in Gabriel’s absence.

This summer, the arrivals of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie made competition for places even tougher, prompting Kiwior to seek regular game-time elsewhere.

‘The club didn’t want to let me go and it took a long time for them to agree to the transfer,’ he told TVP Sport.

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‘I was valued there; no one wanted to get rid of me. Arteta didn’t want me to leave for Portugal either, so I never felt unwanted.’

The decision to leave, Kiwior says, was...