Poland’s Krystian Bielik signed with Arsenal in January, and the 6’2″ 17-year-old had only played defensive midfielder. U21’s manager Steve Gatting is testing the teenager’s versatility by using him as a centre back. Bielik talked to the club website about adjusting to his new country and the new position.
The physicality was something new for me. I only started playing centre back this season and it’s the first time I’ve had to mark strikers who are running in behind.
Bielik is not used to using his pace to keep up with players but rather using his agility and lateral movement to prevent passes from the play-making midfielders he is used to marking. He went on to talk about the adjustments he had to make that came with the position change.
It’s also the first time that I’ve had to win headers.
When I play in defensive midfield I don’t really have to run as much to mark players, so marking a striker at centre back is a lot more physical and has been a new experience for me.
He is not used to players running in behind him, and he says that is showing in his performances.
A lot of the time they ran behind me to go one-on-one with our goalkeeper, so that is definitely something that I need to improve on.
We spoke a lot after the game and the coaches told me what I needed to do to improve and this has really helped me, and I think I really improved on that in the West Ham United game.
Still pretty raw, Bielik will be disappointed to not have made the UEFA Champions League squad for the season, but he will likely use that as a motivator to improve his play. At centre back, the Poland youth international is right beside his captain, Julio Pleguezuelo, and he uses that to his benefit.
It also really helps to have Julio Pleguzuelo playing alongside me because he controls our defensive line and tells me when to get up.
He is a great leader and really helps me play well because of all the advice he gives me.
All in all, Bielik is adjusting and developing well, and if his size is any indication, he will be playing with the first team before long. He should look to get a few domestic cup competition matches under his belt this season in order to get the experience. If he gets senior playing time either with Arsenal or on loan later in this season or next, Bielik could become a household name.
