ARSENAL fans’ concerns around Mikel Arteta playing new signing Kai Havertz in midfield have been somewhat alleviated following the emergence of an old video.
German Havertz, 24, was confirmed as the Gunners’ latest signing last week, arriving from Chelsea in a £65million deal.
Kai Havertz was confirmed as an Arsenal player last week
A video of him playing in central midfield for Bayer Leverkusen has re-emerged
He showed his creativity, pressing and quality from the deeper position
There has been much discussion surrounding where he will fit into Arteta‘s side given the front three of Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli would appear to be nailed on starters.
It has been mooted that Havertz – who struggled to establish himself in any one position at Stamford Bridge – could take Granit Xhaka’s place in midfield.
Following his arrival, Arteta said: “Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player.
“He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.”
That is an area of the pitch he was not utilised in for Chelsea as he mainly led the line or played off the striker.
And the prospect of him attempting to dictate in the middle of the park has been concerning the Arsenal faithful.
But some of those worries subsided following the re-emergence of a video showing Havertz in central midfield for Bayer Leverkusen.
The two-and-a-half-minute montage – taken from a 6-2 win over Werder Bremen in October 2018 – showcased the Germany star’s passing range, energy, control and creativity from a deeper position – as well as his ability to press the opposition.
It remains to be seen how Mikel Arteta will utilise Havertz in his team
He also drove into the final third and scored with a delightful dink midway through the second half, before adding a close-range second 10 minutes later.
And the clip receive widespread praise from Arsenal fans.
One said: “I have so many concerns about Havertz playing in the left eight in midfield. But this video does help calm my nerves.”
Another added: “Arsenal’s De Bruyne.”
And a third replied: “Good job from Edu Gaspard [Arsenal’s sporting director].”
Havertz registered 32 goals and 15 assists in 139 appearances for Chelsea across a three-year spell.
After completing his move to Arsenal, he said: “It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family.
“This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things.
“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that.
“That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.
“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club.
“I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”
Arsenal’s opening game of the Premier League season comes at home to Nottingham Forest on August 12.
Before that, they are also involved in the Community Shield against Manchester City – which takes place on August 6.
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