Would Arsenal Be Getting An Upgrade On Kiwior If They Sign Piero Hincapie? We Take A Look At The Numbers

Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie is prioritising a move to Arsenal, according to reports.

The likes of Tottenham and Chelsea have also been credited with an interest in the Ecuadorian international.

However, Hincapie wants to join the Gunners, but any deal is believed to hinge on the likes of Jakub Kiwior leaving the Emirates first.

Porto are regarded as favourites for the Polish defender. The question is, though, would Hincapie actually be an upgrade on the player he could be replacing? Let’s look at the stats.

Aerial dominance

For this post, we will be using league statistics from the start of the 2021/22 campaign to the present day to compare the two players.

That coincides with Hincapie’s first season with Leverkusen, and (coincidentally) Kiwior’s first at Spezia.

When looking at aerial duels, the Ecuadorian comes out on top, with a win ratio of 58.2% to Kiwior’s 52.1%.

Passing range

Another key area for a modern-day defender is their ability to pass it out from the back.

Passing accuracy is important, but not the only metric to consider. Hincapie is only slightly better (85.8%) than Kiwor (84.5%) in this regard.

Progressive passes are more significant and, again, Hincapie is the superior player, averaging 4.45 per 90 minutes to Kiwior’s 2.96 per 90, which is also borne out in the average progressive passing distance per 90 – Hincapie’s is 332.2 yards to Kiwior’s 219.8.