Dion Dublin has given his verdict on Arsenal star Kai Havertz.
Kai Havertz has attracted plenty of criticism since joining Arsenal.
The German has endured a difficult start to life at the north London club. He has looked low on confidence, and has struggled to make an impact in the final third.
Havertz was finally able to make a truly positive influence on a game against Brentford last time out. Introduced as a late substitute at the Gtech Community Stadium, the 24-year-old nodded in a last-gasp winner to send Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table.
It was just his second goal for the Gunners, and his first from open play, having now made twenty appearances for the club, across all competitions, since making his £65 million switch from Chelsea.
The £280,000-a-week star now needs to kick on from this point and truly get his Arsenal career up and running.
Whilst Mikel Arteta will be delighted with the contribution Havertz made against the Bees, he will be wanting a great deal more consistency from the midfielder. As things stand, Havertz certainly isn’t living up to his price tag.
Kai Havertz must start to shine for Arsenal regularly
Former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin is far from impressed by what he has seen from Havertz so far. Speaking to Premier League Productions, he said, “I don’t know where he plays, I don’t know what his strengths are. Is he fast? Is he good at heading?…I don’t know what his game is. Is he worth £65 million? Well, no, not at the moment because he’s done nothing at all…There’s a player in there, but bring him out, show us what you’ve got.”
The question of Havertz’s best position has been a subject of much debate. At Stamford Bridge, he was primarily used as a striker. However, following the departure of Granit Xhaka, Havertz was brought to Arsenal in order to take up the Swiss ace’s left-eight midfield position.
This shift in position has taken some getting used to for Havertz. He will need some time to adapt. However, he has so far shown that he is able to reliably perform the defensive duties associated with the role. He is a dominant force in the air and can be trusted to press and win his duels.
Problems have arisen when Havertz has found himself on the ball in a dangerous attacking position. All too often, the 42-cap Germany international has let these opportunities go begging. Arteta will be hoping that the confidence boost Havertz takes from his goal against Brentford will make him more decisive and effective in these situations going forward.
Havertz certainly has a great deal of raw talent. He must now, as Dublin says, show it on a regular basis and prove that Arteta did not make a mistake in bringing him to the club.
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