Saturday November 18, 2022. Kai Havertz starts with Germany to face Turkey. On paper, nothing very surprising, and yet the versatile Arsenal midfielder is placed as a left back by Julian Nagelsmann. A poker move attempted by the very young coach. A final attempt to restart the machine. A rather efficient machine so far with the Mannschaft (42 caps, 14 achievements). On his lane, Kai Havertz started his match well and even opened the scoring by throwing himself into the Turkish area (1-0, 5th). Nagelsmann had seen everything, or not.
While Turkey is winning the match, helped by an amorphous German public in Berlin, the Arsenal player is guilty of a hand which will give a penalty to his opponents, converted by Yusuf Sari (2-3, 71st). At the finish, Germany lost. Same Tuesday evening against Austria (2-0). “It’s not about playing 3 or 4 at the back, nor whether Kai Havertz played left defender. It’s about that 5 or 10% of passion, dynamism and energy that was missing in both matches. We are missing these German values”timidly reassured Rudi Völler after the two disappointments of the DFB-Team.
Yet another reconversion to compete in Euro 2024?
“At 24, Kai Havertz plays as a left back in his country? Seriously ? Something is seriously wrong. I don’t know what to say about this. To me, making this decision, it seems like Nagelsmann doesn’t respect Havertz as a player. Havertz spent his entire career playing as an attacking player and then you put him at left back? It’s a total lack of respect on the part of the manager.”commented recently on William Gallas, who had not been kind already this summer when the Gunners recruited the German.
“I don’t believe Havertz was a player Arsenal needed. For me, even when he was at Chelsea, he was never consistent enough. He scored important goals and had flashes, but did not produce enough good performances., he said. Comments opposite to those made by Julian Nagelsmann: “Kai wanted to do it (play left back, editor’s note), he wanted to try. I don’t see it as a risk for him, but as a good, very good opportunity to play a key role at the Euro.. Is the German coach trying to motivate his player or is he rather protecting him? What is certain is that places are expensive on the attacking front and that the man who was compared to Thomas Müller at the start of his career is now playing in the same position as Philipp Lahm at the time…
A 75 million euro ball
Saturday, in south-west London, against Brentford at 6:30 p.m., Kai Havertz will have the opportunity to get back on track, as well as the net. It will undoubtedly be easier for him if he plays in an advanced position. For the moment, the former Chelsea player is struggling to show himself. Like his first part of the season, his one and only goal in the Premier League: a penalty that was offered to him to give him confidence during a 0-4 success for the Gunners against Bournemouth, followed by a celebration restrained.
The German also has only one assist, against Manchester City (1-0), after Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected goal. A meager statistical assessment, very meager but which probably does not surprise the journalists of The Athletic, who judged the 24-year-old as the biggest flop of the summer transfer window after a month of competition. Enough to thrill rival Chelsea supporters.
Mikel Arteta’s big challenge
It must be said that among the Blues, in 3 Premier League seasons, Kai Havertz has only scored 19 times in almost 100 English championship matches, and has only produced 8 caviars. But if the figures rarely speak for the German playmaker – who is not one in hindsight – it is above all his body language who questions. At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta still cannot find a position for the former nugget of Bayer 04, a club where he often played as a false-9. Since then, Havertz has been wandering around, often to the left. Whether in a three-way environment to replace Granit Xhaka, who left… for Leverkusen, or even up front to take advantage of his partners. He also did well against Manchester City during the Community Shield. A lack of reference points which does not help him.
What is the ideal role for the one who stood out at Chelsea, during the big events in the Champions League? Mikel Arteta will have to find out, and quickly, because the London club has paid no less than €75 million – as much as the Blues’ sum in 2020 – to secure his services. At 24, Kai Havertz will not be able to live forever on his heroic goal one evening of May 29, 2021 in the Champions League final, and will have to exert himself to finally show a semblance of regularity in his performances in the Premier League.
