One of the first questions asked when Kai Havertz joined Arsenal for a reported £65m was about the role that he would play under Mikel Arteta. Often used as a striker at Chelsea, where he struggled at times, rumours quickly spread that the Gunners could deploy their new signing in an unexpected midfield role.Initially, pre-season failed to give us an answer to the questions posed over the German’s role, too, with Arteta seemingly struggling to find the best position for his new arrival.The Arsenal manager even admitted in the early stages of the summerthat he was still working out where best to play Havertz in his side. When asked, the manager said, via the Evening Standard: “We will see.”We have to see how he adapts and get to know each other and build relationships.”Football is about that and time will tell where he sees best.”It looks as though the Spaniard has finally cracked the Havertz code, however, with the former Chelsea man impressing in a new role in Arsenal’s final pre-season friendly against AS Monaco.
Kai Havertz impresses in new role
As you can see from the tactical analysis of his cameo, Havertz looked more than comfortable in Granit Xhaka’s former role in midfield, which could give us a major indication as to where he could fit into Arteta’s side.
Though a forward at Chelsea, Havertz showed all the traits necessary to thrive in midfield against Monaco, both going forward and defensively, tracking back and winning the ball back for the Gunners.
It was an impressive display, and one which highlighted just how intelligent a player the new arrival really is, as Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw, before defeating Monaco on penalties.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said, via The Mirror: “Especially for a lot of players that haven’t had many minutes in pre-season and as well, for the new players to play for the first time at Emirates Stadium it was special.
“You could feel the atmosphere and how excited the fans were. In terms of the game, we struggled a little bit to dominate completely and have the game that we want, we had much better periods in the second half.
“I think we were still a bit leggy and jet legged from when we came, we trained really hard the last three days to be fair and we wanted that task for us, when we are not fresh enough to play, how can we compete. So, it was a good test for us and we’re happy with the outcome.”
Those at The Emirates will certainly feel relieved after Havertz’s display, with the Community Shield against Manchester City fast approaching.
How have Arsenal performed in pre-season?
Arsenal have had a mixed run of results throughout pre-season, with two wins, two draws, and one loss in total. Their victories came in impressive fashion, defeating MLS All-Stars 5-0, in which Havertz scored his first goal, before overcoming Barcelona 5-3.
Their one loss, meanwhile, came in frustrating fashion against Manchester United, whilst they were also denied victory against Nurnberg, and Monaco.
As Havertz impressed in his new role against Monaco, however, fans were quick to forget the result, reacting to the German’s display:
