By Lloyd Webb
It has been a year since Krystian Bielik swapped Warsaw for north London.
The Poland youth international joined the Gunners from Legia Warsaw in January 2015, and has had to adapt to a new culture, language and city.
Bielik has not only had to adapt off the pitch but on it too, as he has developed into a reliable centre-back despite arriving at the club as a midfielder.
"I’m doing well and things are getting better and better"
Krystian Bielik
The 18-year-old is pleased with his progression at London Colney and hopes to impress against Swansea City Under-21s on Friday.
“At the beginning it was hard for me,” he told Arsenal.com. “There were new players, a new country and a new language. Now I feel very good. I feel much better on the pitch and in the dressing room - I’m so happy I’m here.
“It is a very big difference to Poland. The biggest change was not playing with Polish people, so I couldn’t really speak at the beginning. It was harder and I didn’t know the language but now it is much better.
“The boys helped me at the beginning. I live in digs with Hugo Keto and he helped me so much. He showed me a lot of places to go and he is a very good friend like everyone else here.
"I came here a midfielder but my coaches think I should play centre back. I’m doing well and things are getting better and better.
“Julio Pleguezuelo helps me all the time. We are two good defenders but he has more experience there than me and he helps me every day. Sometimes when I defend I need to think more and stay focused. I think there is a lot of work ahead but things are going well.”
Bielik will be hoping Arsenal can make it a second win against Swansea City in the space of a week after he captained the under-18s to a 3-1 victory in the FA Youth Cup.
“We will train hard,” he said. “We will be ready for the next game, it doesn’t matter who we play we will be ready. We need to win every game. This is our aim as we are Arsenal. We want to be better every single day. We want to win and be a monster in every game.”
Follow @Arsenal on Twitter from 11:55am (UK time) on Friday for live updates of the game against Swansea Under-21s at London Colney.
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