Kai Havertz was one of the big Arsenal names in action at the World Cup this weekend but despite scoring twice against Curacao, there was still some criticism.
Havertz tucked away his penalty to give Germany a 3-1 lead at half-time before he added the seventh goal and his second late in the second 45.
The Gunners star played the full game in the end and looks very much like being a key part of Julian Nagelsmann’s side this summer.
Still, while Havertz netted twice and Germany romped home, there was still some grumbles from the national media.
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German media rate Kai Havertz’s performance v Curacao
Much like a lot of his performances for Arsenal, this was very much what we’ve become accustomed to seeing with Kai Havertz.
In the main, he was actually quite quiet in the game and barring the two goals he scored, he didn’t have many standout moments.
But what he does do is take his chances and the composure for the second goal showed just why Nagelsmann – and indeed Mikel Arteta – often select him.
Still, Germany’s national media outlet BILD picked up on his overall play and suggested that Havertz wasn’t really impactful on the game.
The center forward was largely invisible in the first half. He worked hard, repeatedly creating gaps in the opposing defence, but otherwise remained rather ineffective. However, he was ice-cold from the penalty spot. He was also ice-cold for the 7-1 goal shortly before the final whistle. Grade 2
Another media outlet, BulliNews, did give Havertz a solid eight of ten rating, while English outfit Goal went down a similar path to that of BILD with a 7/10.
“Coolly converted his penalty and produced a fine dinked finish for the seventh, but was otherwise pretty quiet as others shone around him. Still, made plenty of excellent runs to create space, and is already well in the Golden Boot race.”
Nevertheless, whatever these ratings are doesn’t really matter to Havertz.
Germany are now all but through to the knockout phase and Havertz himself is in the picture for the Golden Boot.
All in all, it was an ideal start for the Arsenal forward really.
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