Mikel Arteta has used a strange analogy to console Kai Havertz after a difficult start to life at Arsenal for the German international.
Under fortunate circumstances, Arsenal took on Manchester United and came out as heavy winners. It took a 95th-minute goal from Declan Rice for the Gunners to take the lead, and then Gabriel Jesus finished off the contest with a goal, his first against the Red Devils.
At the start of the contest, when Mikel Arteta named his starting lineup, the inclusion of Kai Havertz raised a few eyebrows. The German international has struggled for relevance, according to most people in the media. But that feeling has crept into the fanbase for one reason or another.
Havertz continues to extend his adaptation period since joining the Gunners. But Arteta is visibly playing him in an indifferent role than the German is used to. For instance, Declan Rice still plays in midfield, and anyone else who has joined has played in their preferred position more or less.
Our view is to give Havertz time to settle in and grasp every bit of the new role assigned to him. Currently, Arteta continues to play the 24-year-old in a midfield three, which he has yet to do, and in our view, his performances warrant more praise than criticism.
Arteta: “I said to Havertz: things are hard at the beginning. When I met my wife, at the beginning it was hard to conquer her. It was hard, I had to try and message her, and go, and go”. 🔴⚪️ #AFC
“And at the end when she says ‘yes, we can be together…’ it’s beautiful”. pic.twitter.com/xnB3fjVnoG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 3, 2023
Naturally, when a player known for his forward play and goalscoring prowess joins, they are expected to be lethal up front. Instead, Havertz has struggled in the final third. However, looking at his midfield numbers will suggest how wrong some people are in criticising him for his displays.
Before the Manchester United game, Arteta urged the fanbase to give Havertz the love he deserves. The Arsenal boss has now followed that up with a strange analogy to console the German after a new round of criticism following a glaring miss in the game on Sunday, as those quotes appeared on Fabrizio Romano’s tweet.
Arteta said, “I said to Havertz: things are hard at the beginning. When I met my wife, at the beginning it was hard to conquer her. It was hard, I had to try and message her, and go, and go. And at the end, when she says ‘yes, we can be together,’ it’s beautiful”.
These quotes take us back to a few years when former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel offered a similar analogy regarding another misfiring forward Timo Werner. Back then, Tuchel failed to revive the striker’s goalscoring prowess with his words, although Arteta would like his words to have a detrimental effect on his German star.
For now, we assume Arteta will keep picking Havertz as the Spaniard wants to create a different system than we know it. He could use a similar approach to the Manchester United game for the foreseeable future, considering Thomas Partey will miss out for a few weeks with a groin injury.
I think Havertz has done well in this position. His work off the ball has been very good as has his defensive work.