‘That’s a different thing’: Mikel Arteta very impressed with Arsenal star who won 7 duels vs Southampton | OneFootball

Arsenal continued their winning run with a 3-1 Premier League victory over Southampton yesterday.

The Gunners went into the game as clear favourites to pick up three points, but they were unable to break the deadlock in the opening half despite 14 attempts on goal.

The Saints opened the scoring out of the blue in the 55th minute, but Arsenal were able to recover from the deficit to register a comfortable 3-1 triumph in the end.

Kai Havertz led the comeback by netting the equaliser with a powerful effort from the edge of the box.

The German also played a big part in the third goal, providing a key pass to Leandro Trossard. The Belgian’s deflected shot fell into the path of Saka who completed the scoring.

Speaking after the game, manager Mikel Arteta could not hide his admiration of the German. The manager said that Havertz is playing with loads of confidence at the current point of time.

He told Arsenal.com: “You can tell [his confidence has grown], he takes the ball and he runs with the ball. He’s on high press, he goes full gas, the way he holds the ball, the position he takes in the box.

“He’s an attacking midfielder, he plays as a nine, you don’t know where he is, that’s his football brain. His focus now is ‘I’m going to win the game, I’m going to do it’ and that’s a different thing.”

The 25-year-old has now scored six goals alongside an assist this term. He has netted in each of his last seven outings at the Emirates Stadium which is a joint-record shared with Robin van Persie.

Havertz has turned into the ideal number nine for the Gunners and we were quite surprised that Arteta started him in midfield yesterday with Gabriel Jesus leading the attack for Arsenal.

The decision did not prove worthwhile. Havertz was pushed into the striker’s role after the Saints opener and it paid dividends with the German bagging a crucial goal in the comeback win.

Aside from his strike, Havertz won seven ground and aerial duels yesterday. The club’s faithful will be hoping that he can continue his bright form following the international break.

Stats from Sofascore.com & Squawka.com