Arsenal: Kai Havertz now part of 'unnecessary change' at the Emirates

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·25 de septiembre de 2023

Arsenal: Kai Havertz now part of 'unnecessary change' at the Emirates

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made too many 'unnecessary changes' involving Kai Havertz, which have now caused a big problem at the Emirates Stadium, journalist Dean Jones suggested to GIVEMESPORT.

Havertz joined the capital club during the recent summer transfer window, but the German international has not yet hit the ground running with his new team.

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Arsenal transfer news - Kai Havertz

One of the more peculiar transfers completed during the summer window, Havertz swapping west London for north London did raise plenty of eyebrows and had some people scratching their heads. The former Bayer Leverkusen man hadn't exactly excelled while at Chelsea, but that didn't stop Arteta's Arsenal from splashing a whopping £65 million on his services.

Essentially allowing Chelsea to recuperate the fee they themselves had spent on him just three years prior, the transfer was met with plenty of questions and quite a bit of confusion. Part of the reasoning behind such doubts was down to the lack of clarity over where Havertz would fit in at the Emirates Stadium under Arteta.

Having mainly played as a centre-forward during his spell with Chelsea, the one-time Champions League winner started his Arsenal career playing as part of a midfield three. Initially in the starting-11 for the Gunners' earlier fixtures this season, Havertz has since been ushered out of the side for their Premier League outings.

While he did feature from the off for the north Londoners' Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven, it was back to the substitute bench for the derby against Tottenham Hotspur, where Havertz played 45 minutes as a second-half substitute. And now, with Havertz struggling for form, there is a feeling that Arteta has created a problem for himself with his early treatment of the £280,000-per-week star.

What has Dean Jones said about Kai Havertz and Arsenal?

When speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones admitted he has been left wondering what Havertz's purpose is in the Arsenal side, after a mixed start to the campaign. While insisting he will come good for the Premier League runners-up, Jones questioned whether Arteta's initial plan for Havertz is working and whether he'll need to reinvent his role already:

“With Fabio Vieira now pushing for a start in the team, obviously it does raise questions about how Havertz fits in. I think that bringing Havertz straight into the system has probably been a bit too much. I think Arteta has made too many unnecessary changes to be honest in the early weeks of the season, and that's why Arsenal have been forced to settle for narrow wins rather than comfortable wins. They're still playing really well but they need to find a way eventually to try and get Havertz into this set up.”

What have other people made of the Kai Havertz to Arsenal transfer?

It's safe to say Havertz to Arsenal is a move which has divided opinion, with most people failing to see the logic at this early stage. One of those in the doubting camp is Liverpool legend Graeme Souness, who has hinted the transfer could work out to be a gigantic waste of money.

Speaking in his Daily Mail column, the former Sky Sports pundit said:

"Not all of Arsenal’s spending makes sense to me. They’ve laid out £65million on Kai Havertz. Surely you’re not spending that kind of money on what he’s shown at Chelsea in the past three seasons? They’ve shelled out in the hope that Mikel Arteta can get a very, very different tune out of him than Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter ever did. Good luck with that one, Mikel. "We live in a world where stats have become a very popular part of the game for the anoraks. But historically only two stats provide a judgment in black and white terms. For a goalkeeper: how many games have you played and how many clean sheets did you keep? And for a striker: how many games have you played and how many goals did you score? Havertz has scored 19 Premier League goals across the entirety of three seasons for Chelsea. Please draw your own conclusions."

What's next for Kai Havertz and Arsenal this season?

It's likely Havertz will need to start performing soon, should the German wish to impress Arteta and find a way back into the starting-11. There is every chance that opportunity could come for him this week, with the Gunners back in League Cup action.

Arsenal travel to Brentford on Wednesday evening for a clash against the west London outfit, with Havertz's name likely to be on the team sheet for that clash. While Brentford will provide a stern test for what is expected to be a rotated Arsenal side, Havertz should be able to show his quality and stake a claim with a strong performance.