Arteta now warned Arsenal star who’s ‘getting worse’ has ‘no confidence’

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Former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agonlahor expects things to get even worse for Kai Havertz at Arsenal.

Kai Havertz has endured a difficult start to his Arsenal career. Since joining the north London outfit in a £65 million switch from Chelsea in the recent summer transfer window, the 24-year-old has failed to live up to his price tag.

So far this season, with 19 appearances for the Gunners across all competitions now under his belt, the German has managed to chip in with just one goal and one assist.

Particularly in the final third, Havertz has looked woefully short on confidence and cutting edge. Far too many presentable goalscoring opportunities have gone begging, and all too often his first touch and technique has let him down in promising situations.

Mikel Arteta identified Havertz as the man to replace Granit Xhaka in the left-eight midfield position. Whilst the former Chelsea man has been able to compete effectively in the middle of the park and win plenty of duels, he has fallen well short of the Swiss midfielder’s productivity in the final third. 

Concerns growing over Kai Havertz

Gabby Agbonlahor does not expect things to improve for the £280,000-a-week star anytime soon either. Echoing Piers Morgan’s recent assessment of Havertz, Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT (11/11/2023, 18:38), “there’s no confidence. He slows down attacks. He is playing in a comfort zone, and he is getting worse.”

Havertz looks like a player who desperately needs something to go his way. A lucky break that leads to a goal, or an opposition error that he can capitalise on. The pressure is certainly mounting on him to make some kind of positive impact for Arsenal.

There is no doubting that the 40-cap Germany international has vast natural talent. Putting that into practice on a consistent and effective basis in the Premier League is another matter though. There were question marks over Havertz throughout his time at Stamford Bridge, and those doubts are more pronounced than ever now.