Kai Havertz has been subjected to heavy criticism since joining Arsenal this summer, and looks a far cry from the talent he once was at Bayer Leverkusen.
Havertz was one of the best youngsters in the world prior to his big-money move to Chelsea, and his time at Stamford Bridge was difficult.
He has since continued to struggle at Arsenal, and questions have been raised as to why Mikel Arteta decided to sign him given his poor time at Chelsea.
Many argued in the summer that if Havertz could return to the performance levels he showed at Leverkusen, he would be a top-level player, but this has not been the case so far.
Havertz’s struggles since leaving Leverkusen
Speaking on TalkSPORT, former West Ham player Dean Ashton claimed that Havertz now looks “weak” compared to his time at Leverkusen.
“In the Bundesliga when I watched him I thought that kid is special, I think he’s going to be a special player,” Ashton claimed.
“But he just looks a bit flaky, a bit weak maybe for our football.”
Is Havertz too weak for Arsenal?
Although he is tall, Havertz often struggles to impose himself physically on games when in midfield, but a bigger problem is that he is not effective on the ball.
Havertz actually uses his physique well when playing as a central striker, and weakness is far from his biggest issue.
Arteta now needs to find a way for Havertz to start imposing himself on games more, and to use his size to his advantage. It is clear that a midfield role is not working for him given his limitations on the ball, but his cameo appearances as a striker have been fairly promising.
His assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s winner against Manchester City was a good example of how Havertz can hold the ball up well, and he did not appear weak in that moment. He is low on confidence, and so far has looked unsuitable for the team, but his physicality currently remains his biggest strength.
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