Kai Havertz: Why The Noise? by Patrick S
When news broke that Arsenal were interested in signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea, many expressed pessimism about his potential arrival. A few days later, rumour became reality when the German signed on the dotted line for Arsenal for a reported £65m from Chelsea.
‘For £65million I want a player who is going to boss a game, who is going to look like scoring goals.
‘He gets in people’s way. He makes it harder for teammates to find space, isn’t quick. He’s not a prolific finisher and isn’t great at getting the ball and turning.
‘If I’m Smith Rowe, if I’m Trossard, I’m thinking gaffer come on, I know you’ve paid 65m for him, you’ve got to give me a chance.’
The fact that Havertz has had a quiet start to life at the Emirates hasn’t helped matters either. His miscued shot with only Onana to beat in the game against Manchester United along with that stray crossfield pass that resulted in Marcus Rashford giving Manchester United the lead, before Arsenal rallied back to win the game 3-1 didn’t help.
That has made the noises against Havertz even louder, more painfully even from Arsenal fans, who, at all costs, should stand in support of their player! Mikel Arteta has been unwavering in his defense of the player he signed so expensively two months ago. He has called for calm and patience recently referring to the patience he exercised in his woo his wife, Lorena Bernal. He therefore urged Arsenal supporters to show Havertz the kind of love that would make the player feel at home, to enable him rediscover his mojo that made him one of the most sought after players, forcing Chelsea to shell out a jaw-dropping £75m for the then 21-year-old three years ago.
Yes, Havertz hasn’t had the best of starts in north London. But we’ve seen enough examples of players whose starts were not as glamorous, but turned out to absolute legends. Didier Drogba was labeled a flop in his first season at Chelsea. Today, the Ivorian is considered one of the greatest players in history of the Blues. It took Thierry Henry 9 games to score his first goal for Arsenal, but today the Frenchman is officially the finest player to have played football in the Premier League. Many labelled Fabio Vieira a flop last season, wondering why Arteta sanctioned £35m to sign him from FC Porto. Today, the cries for the Portuguese to start ahead of Havertz are growing louder by the day after impressive cameos against both Fulham and Manchester United.
All this points to one thing: patience. We are talking about a supremely talented player, playing at a new club in a new role after a very bad season at Chelsea. His cause has not been helped by the change of personnel behind him, with the left-back slot occupied by Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior and Oleksander Zinchenko in the four games played this season. Would one expect the German to establish a chemistry with players who have kept on changing every passing game? Absolutely not. Much as Havertz has not done enough to justify such a huge outlay in the four games so far, the criticism that has been thrown towards him is vividly unwarranted.
The bottom line is that people need to calm down. Havertz will definitely come good. He’s playing in a complex system where he plays a hybrid role, starting out as a left-sided #8 end ending as a forward with his team in possession. He, just like anybody else, needs time to stake his claim. He’s not a bad player by any stretch of imagination, as no bad player can cost a combined fee of £140m.
Give the lad time!
Ssekatawa Patrick
JustArsenal Show – NEO discusses Arteta’s evolving tactics and discusses whether Kai Havertz could be considered a flop after his four games…
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
