Mikel Arteta has called on Arsenal supporters to show Kai Havertz some love and understanding in order to get the best out of the attacker.
Havertz has come under early scrutiny after only three appearances in Arteta’s new look line-up following his surprise £65m summer switch from London rivals Chelsea.
But Arteta has explained he has nothing but praise for how the versatile German is settling into playing football the Arsenal way.
“I tell you what I feel about him,” Arteta said, “that I love him!
“I see his qualities every single day in training. His work-rate is excellent, a lot of things that he’s brought to the team is so good. At the moment all is what is missing is to put the ball in the net and to arrive on those and have a different impact on the game.
“It’s difficult to ask more of our supporters and our people, but my feeling is give him love and we’ll get the best out of him.
“I think we have some very beautiful examples in the last years with players that we have given a lot of support and got behind them, and they have felt that love and they just exploded.”
Arteta believes some of the hasty criticism for Havertz is coming from outside the club, aimed inside by rivals willing Arsenal to fail to build on last season’s Premier League title challenge.
SLOW DEVELOPERS
He also pointed out how many recent success stories in the transfer market have also followed early scepticism. Arsenal have a long history of slow developers in the Premier League era including Invincible legends Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
“Martin Odegaard (the Arsenal captain) took a long time to convince people and with Gabriel Magalhaes it was the same. Ben White could not play as a full-back! Aaron Ramsdale wasn’t good enough for Arsenal! Now we have signed another keeper and it is a catastrophe. Bukayo Saka was a left-back and now he’s a right wing. Granit Xhaka….we have so many good examples.”
Arteta did concede, however, that he has yet to find the perfect midfield role in his side for his summer signing, who was previously viewed as a winger or forward.
Explaining what he rates so highly about the 24-year-old Havertz, he concluded: “His football brain, how he understands when to move, how to move, when to stay, when to run, it’s phenomenal.
“And it’s true that he’s played with three different people behind him, and they are the ones who have to make him good. These guys depend on the ones at the back.
“We are talking about a player who has already won [major trophies] and done a lot at his age. And he’s played three Premier League games for us, so… calm.”
