Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Kai Havertz in the wake of Arsenal’s pre-season loss against Liverpool.
Whilst Arsenal were ultimately beaten 2-1 by Liverpool in a pre-season friendly in Philadelphia last night, there were plenty of positives for Mikel Arteta to take from his side’s performance.
Martin Odegaard sparkled with his creativity, Gabriel Martinelli got into dangerous positions, and Gabriel Jesus looked to be full of energy.
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz was able to get on the scoresheet for the Gunners, and looked to be confident, despite not being deployed in his preferred role up front.
Arteta hinted Havertz may return to a midfield role, and that was indeed the case against the Reds, as he played behind Jesus, alongside Odegaard.
Arsenal planned to reinvent Havertz as a midfielder when he joined the North London club last summer. Arteta’s efforts to repurpose the 25-year-old were unconvincing on that occasion, but the Spanish coach clearly isn’t ready to give up on the plan entirely.
A confident and in-form Havertz certainly has the attributes required to flourish in that role.
Mikel Arteta hails Kai Havertz for extra summer work
Havertz looks to be in a positive frame of mind at this time. He appears sharp, confident, and ready to hit the ground running in the new campaign.
This offers a sharp contrast to this time last season, when he joined the club looking bereft of confidence.
Arteta has now praised the former Chelsea man for going the extra mile this summer in order to ensure that he is ready to shine for the Gunners.
As quoted by the club’s official website, the manager said: “It was good to see him score a goal. I think, again, he’s had only four training sessions and he then has to play in these conditions, but he’s come again in good shape. He prepared himself before he joined us and he looks good.”
How Arsenal star Havertz spent his summer
At the start of the summer break, Arsenal duo Havertz and Odegaard went on holiday together. Both players were deserving of such a break.
Since then, Havertz has led the line for his nation at Euro 2024. Germany hosted the summer tournament, and reached the quarter-finals, before being eliminated by eventual winners Spain. The Arsenal man was able to score twice in the competition.
Havertz has clearly also done plenty of fitness work himself since then to ensure that he returned to Arsenal in peak condition.
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