Mikel Arteta slams Kai Havertz transfer criticism and lets rip in furious rant

26 July 2023 , 11:48

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Mikel Arteta slams Kai Havertz transfer criticism and lets rip in furious rant

Mikel Arteta has launched a passionate defence of summer signing Kai Havertz after the £65million man has already faced questions over his performances in pre-season.

The Arsenal manager made clear to reporters that Havertz will be a vital part of a midfield trio that does require all of the important physical attributes, despite the recent criticism. Arteta's decision to land the Germany international's signature for such a high fee sparked debate, with three underwhelming seasons at London rivals Chelsea still fresh in the memory.

Further eyebrows were raised when it emerged that Havertz had been signed to replace Granit Xhaka, now of Bayer Leverkusen. The Arsenal fanbase saw a first glimpse of the former Blues star in that role against Manchester United on Saturday, but it did not produce the desired results.

After losing 2-0 to their Premier League rivals in New York, it is crystal clear that the trio of Havertz, fellow new recruit Declan Rice and club captain Martin Odegaard will take time to truly establish the chemistry needed to launch a title tilt.

Arteta is firm in his stance that Havertz will silence the critics and also made clear that with the likes of Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny, Arsenal have what it takes within their ranks to give as good as they get in any physical contest.

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"We’re going to have to find the right balance as well, but a year ago Granit could never play that as an attacking midfielder," Arteta explained, speaking ahead of their next pre-season outing against Barcelona at the SoFi stadium.

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"So let’s try to get the work done. It’s the first time we played with four players inside, and three of them had never played for us. So three out of four, they never played together ever. So, tranquilo! Day-by-day, keep doing the right things, give people opportunity to settle them into the right things and we will be fine."

Clearly irked by the constant focus on Havertz and his ability to mix it with the strongest, Arteta went on: "You use a word that is ‘physical’. So if I put Granit and Kai and I ask you who is more physical? What would you say?

"Kai is one metre 91, so it depends what you mean physical. Physical is (also) to run, running behind the forward, to tackle. It depends. So we will fit in with the qualities that we have, that’s for sure. And the good thing is that we have options as well. When we have a game that is more physical, we can become very physical as well. We have the right options."

Josh O'Brien