Arsenal legend Ian Wright has had his say on where Kai Havertz currently stands in the pecking order.
After a difficult start to his Arsenal career, Kai Havertz has finally found some form in recent weeks. The former Chelsea man has scored in each of his last two starts for the north London club, grabbing goals against Brentford and Lens.
However, he was left out of the starting XI for the visit of Wolves to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with Leandro Trossard coming into the team in his place.
It could be that Havertz was feeling a bit of fatigue as the Gunners have a congested fixture schedule. Equally, Trossard does deserve opportunities to play, as he has regularly impressed this season when given the chance.
It does beg the question, though, as to where Havertz currently stands in the pecking order under Mikel Arteta. With the German finally looking like he is playing with confidence and comfortable with what is being asked of him by the Spanish coach, it surely makes sense to give him as much game time as possible.
Where does Kai Havertz stand at Arsenal?
Ian Wright believes that Arteta still lacks a little bit of faith in the 24-year-old. Speaking to Premier League Productions (02/12/2023, 14:50), the iconic former striker said, “Arteta knows he has got that up his sleeve, especially with Havertz now he has got confidence by scoring in his last couple of games.”
“I think Trossard gives him a little bit more control. In a game where we are going to need to control – he gives us that little bit more stability and Kai maybe isn’t at that level yet, in respect to the trust Mikel will have in him, at the moment.”
Havertz has come in for plenty of criticism so far this season. However, he deserves a great deal of credit for keeping going and playing his way into form again. He has all the talent and raw attributes needed to become a star at the north London club. If he can marry that ability with consistency and confidence then he will soon silence his remaining doubters and nail down a permanent place in the starting XI.
If Havertz can impress throughout the second half of this campaign then that would be a major boost for the Gunners. Certainly, with the amount of matches that Arsenal are likely to play, he will get plenty of game time, even as he is building up the manager’s faith in him.
The 42-cap Germany international ought to also be a useful impact player from the bench. With his height and physicality, he can lend a fresh dynamic to Arsenal’s attacking play if they are finding an opposition defence difficult to break down. Even if it is not yet fully defined, Havertz already has a crucial role to play in this squad.
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