Liverpool legend Graeme Souness rips into Arsenal star Kai Havertz
According to AS, Former Liverpool skipper Graeme Souness has revealed his distaste at the performances of Arsenal star Kai Havertz in the ongoing 2022-23 season.
The German international was one of the finest young talents in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen, earning himself a big-money move to Chelsea in the summer of 2020.
Havertz enjoyed some success in Blue, most notably scoring the winner in the final of the 2021 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City. Apart from that moment, it is difficult to recollect many other standout instances where he has shone.
This did not stop Arsenal from going big for him earlier this summer as Mikel Arteta aimed to address deficiencies in his ambitious young squad. To call Havertz’s opening few games in red a disappointment would be an understatement.
Souness, a pundit who is not known to mince his words, has now made it perfectly clear what he thinks of Havertz’s move to The Emirates. The Scot went on to add that the Gunners’ outlay for the German makes little sense.
“Not all of Arsenal’s spending makes sense to me. They’ve laid out £65 million on Kai Havertz. Surely you’re not spending that kind of money on what he’s shown at Chelsea in the past three seasons?”
Having seen what Havertz can and cannot do, one will have to back Souness on this one. Havertz has not really developed as a player in recent years and stands out in an Arsenal side that is otherwise full of purpose and impact.
Mikel Arteta might have hoped to get one over Thomas Tuchel and Frank Lampard regarding Havertz but Souness believes the Spaniard is mistaken. For now, the jury is certainly out on the 24-year-old attacker. Surely, the Gunners did not go big only to satisfy their manager’s ego.
“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.”
Souness has in the past gone after Paul Pogba but the Frenchman did little to silence his critics on the field. Havertz and Arsenal will hope that lightning doesn’t strike twice and that Sounenss will be forced to change his tune on the German in the years to come.
